For the Sake of Convenience
by xMorbidxAngelx
Summary: Childhood acquaintances meet again after several years. A sudden request throws their budding relationship into turmoil. How can their relationship survive the shadows of the past as well as the threat of heartbreak?
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** I wasn't going to publish this until it was finished, but since my memory stick has decided not to work and I've yet to go out and get another, this has been taking up space which I need for other ideas and other chapters.

There are ideas within this story that I know I have used in some of my other stories, but I decided to be a little different about it this time. I'm going to make this story a bit more serious than my others. I've been working on this one for about a month now, so hopefully it'll be at least somewhat decent :)

*-*-*-*-*

**Chapter I**

There were times in life when one wished they could simply hide and this was definitely one of those times. Rin Nakamura stared at her reflection in the mirror and heaved a sigh as she sat down heavily on the edge of her bed. She shook her head as she glanced at the person staring back at her again and frowned as though she expected her reflection to have changed while she wasn't looking. Unfortunately for her, her reflection was still the same as it had always been and she knew that it wasn't going to change. Pushing thoughts of how to change herself aside, Rin rose to her feet and smoothed down her skirt and straightened her blouse before slipping on her shoes and heading out the door.

For the first time in a long while, she was going to spend the afternoon with her friends and she felt slightly anxious about it. Work had kept her busy over the past few months and left her with little time for seeing her friends, but today was special. Today she was being treated to lunch on her day off and she was going to thoroughly enjoy herself. This kind of thing didn't happen often. Despite wanting to enjoy herself, Rin wanted the ground to open up and swallow her where she stood. She knew she looked like she was heading to work and she also knew such a look would most likely be something her friends would tease her for, but that was easy since she knew they meant not harm. Still, she didn't like what she had seen in the mirror and the urge to turn tail and run home to hide was almost overwhelming.

The meeting spot was a restaurant just down the road from where Rin's home was and she couldn't help the tiny smile that pulled her lips as she saw her friends already gathered near the door, waiting for her. The women called her name cheerfully and waved her over. Stopping beside them, Rin waited for the hugs and other exuberant greetings before attempting her own greetings.

"Honestly, Rin!" Kagome exclaimed with a laugh. "Don't you have anything casual in that wardrobe of yours?"

"I don't get much time for a social life therefore I have very little need for casual clothes," Rin explained with a slight shrug.

"It doesn't matter what she's wearing," Inuyasha stated as he slipped an arm around Kagome's waist. "Can't you think of a better greeting than criticising her choice of clothing? We've not seen her in so long after all!"

"It's alright," Rin said with a vague smile as she pushed her glasses up. "I expected that greeting."

Pulled along by her friends' enthusiasm and cheerful conversations, Rin followed the group into the restaurant. Once seated, she glanced about her curiously. It was a new restaurant and she'd never been there before. It was far too expensive for her to visit with her meagre earnings, but she supposed it wasn't so bad if Inuyasha was treating them to a meal here although she wondered what had prompted that. The place was stunning with it's modern designs, beautiful pieces of art hanging on the walls and elaborate floral decorations in the centre of every table.

"Why are we eating here?" Rin asked eventually, unable to hold in her curiosity any longer.

"You never did tell us why," Miroku agreed with a frown.

"Don't we normally have our meals elsewhere?" Kouga added.

Inuyasha just grinned and Rin fought the urge to sigh. She had known all six of her friends since high school, but she was closest to Inuyasha and Kagome. They could almost be described as her older siblings with the way they constantly looked out for her. The grin Inuyasha had just flashed was not good news and previous experience with that grin meant that she was most likely not going to be impressed with what he said next. Fixing an intense gaze on her friend, she waited to hear his story and prayed it was believable.

"It's my brother's new restaurant!" Inuyasha exclaimed happily.

"Your brother owns a restaurant?" Sango asked in surprise.

"It only opened a week ago, but because I was working, I couldn't come to the opening evening with my parents," he explained. "Sesh said he'd give me a discount if I came along today and brought some friends."

"A discount?" Rin echoed in disbelief. "All this from the brother you used to claim to hate?"

"Well I was a kid then," Inuyasha said, his grin back in place. "We don't get on all the time, but we don't constantly try to kill each other anymore."

"This is very true," a deep voice agreed quietly from behind the group.

Almost in unison, the table's occupants turned around to see who the newcomer was and Kagome was out of her seat in an instant when she recognised the man. Standing behind them and looking very professional was none other than Sesshoumaru Taisho, Inuyasha's elder brother. His eyebrow rose in surprise when Kagome gave him an excited hug before sitting down and ignoring the glare Inuyasha sent her way. The usual banter followed as everyone's attention seemed to be riveted to the tall silver haired chef, but Rin resisted the urge to sigh. She had known Sesshoumaru almost as long as she had known Inuyasha, but she couldn't say she enjoyed him company as much. She had nothing against him and had even harboured a rather embarrassing crush on him when she was much younger, but he was far too introverted for her liking and when he did speak, it was more often than not in a cold tone that did nothing to discourage the belief that he didn't enjoy being surrounded by large crowds of people. A tiny smile crossed Rin's lips as she thought about his anti-social behaviour and wondered why he had chosen to become a chef when it meant that he would have to work with a lot of people.

When left alone with Sesshoumaru, Rin found that there was very little to talk about. Like him, she was also introverted and that meant that their brief and very rare encounters were always quite awkward as a result of the lack of conversation. She was very glad that she was not alone with him this time as the situation would probably be even more awkward than usual. It had been nearly four years since she had seen him last since he had gone abroad to study after leaving high school. It was quite likely that they had both changed in one way or another, but she doubted that either of them had changed enough to make a decent conversation.

Glancing up at the tall man from the corner of the eye to see if he had changed, she had to struggle to hold in her gasp of surprise. As a child he had been anti-social and often resorted to violence when something particularly annoyed him, but he had changed as a teenager. His anti-social behaviour remained, but the violence was limited to retaliating to Inuyasha's teasing comments and in place of that violence, scathing comments were delivered when someone or something displeased him. As a teenager he had been overly serious and far too skinny which had made his tall frame look even taller. No one dared to tease him about it, but Rin was willing to bet that when everyone was sure he wasn't listening, he would be the topic of conversation and the butt of many jokes.

As she looked at him now, there was no trace of the violent child or awkward teenager he had once been and it startled her to say the least. His hair was still as long as it had been all those years ago except that it was no longer braided. It was tied back in a simple ponytail, which she supposed, also helped keep it out of the way while he worked, but she would have thought a braid would be better. His skinny frame had changed and his shoulders were broad and powerful looking arms were crossed across his chest as he responded to the comments his brother made. Shaking her head slightly, Rin wondered what had happened to change him so much. It was a change for the better, but it was strange to think that he was the same lanky youth she had known. Looking down into her drink, she wondered if he would remember her but almost immediately pushed the thought aside. There was no reason why he should remember her and even if by some chance he did, he probably would recognise her.

Rin too had changed since the last time they had met. She was sure he would remember her as a cheerful, chubby teenager who wore enough bright colours that it would make a rainbow seem pale in comparison. A tiny smile pulled her lips as she remembered how she had been before pushing aside the thought. Things had changed now and she had grown up. Gone was the happy-go-lucky teenager in bright clothes and in her place was the woman she had become. Her attitude had changed as she matured and a seriousness that would rival Sesshoumaru's had taken the place of her easygoing nature. The bright clothes were replaced by simple black and white ones and she now sported a pair of glasses that she had never had as a teenager. Sighing to herself, Rin pushed said glassed up and pushed away thought about how she had changed.

"I must return to the kitchens," Sesshoumaru said after a while. "I hope I will see you all here again."

"He's changed so much!" Ayame exclaimed when the chef had disappeared. "That was such a surprise."

"What do you think, Rin?" Inuyasha asked, looking at her seriously. "You know him pretty well, don't you?"

"Where on earth did you get that idea from?" Rin asked in surprise. "I've spoken to him a couple of times, but I know even less about him than the rest of you probably."

"That's because you don't talk enough!" Ayame said with a grin. "You always sit quietly in the corner until someone speaks to you."

"You need to find a boyfriend, Rin," Sango teased as she reached over to ruffle Rin's hair. "That'll bring you out of your shell and you'll be happy!"

*-*-*-*-*

Several days after the lunch meeting, Rin sighed as she looked out the window of her small office at work. All her friends were well on their way to being successful in their chosen careers, but she couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right choice in becoming a teacher. She was a university lecturer and she supposed that was pretty good as far as things go, but it wasn't really as impressive as Inuyasha being the heir to a company that was worth millions. Lifting her glasses to rub her eyes, Rin got to her feet and headed towards the door. Since she had become lecturer, she had initially found that she had some free time between her lectures that she could not fill with just paperwork as it became far too tedious. There had been a small café on the campus that had been on the verge of closure because they didn't earn enough money to keep going. Rin had volunteered to take on the task of bringing the café up to standard and now, a year later, she couldn't help but smile as she walked into the café. Everything was in its place and the people who were sitting at the tables were smiling and happily eating whatever it was that was on the menu for the day. One of the ladies who served the food waved and beckoned Rin over.

"It's rare to see you here in the middle of the day, Rin," the woman said with a smile as she pushed a cup of coffee across the counter towards her friend.

"Sorry, Rika. I know I should come by more often, but I've got too much work at the moment," Rin said as she sipped the coffee.

Rika laughed. "They must be working you hard if you can't find a spare moment to come have lunch!"

"Exams are coming up," Rin explained, smiling vaguely as she thought about how well her students were doing. "Most of my free time is taken up by students needing extra help so I arranged some study sessions."

"You'll soon be able to come back here for lunch then," Rika commented with a smile. "I've heard that there are supposed to be some evening cookery courses starting, is that true?"

"I've heard the rumour but I don't know if it's true. It has little to do with my department so I don't know the details."

"I heard they've got some famous chef in to teach the lessons!"

"Oh really? It must have been difficult to get a chef to agree to tutor novices. I imagine they would have a fairly busy schedule," Rin said softly as she finished her coffee. "Anyway, I've got to get back. I'll see you later though. I scheduled a study session in here this evening."

Hours later, Rin found herself walking wearily towards the café with a group of her students all cheerfully talking as they walked. Looking at her students, she couldn't help but smile to herself. She was immensely proud of them for achieving such incredible grades in their last exams and as she sat with them in their many study sessions, she felt very much like a mother watching over her children. The crowd of students ran ahead of her to find the best seats as the café came into view and Rin followed at a slower pace, shaking her head in amusement at their antics. Shifting the pile of books in her arms, she pushed the door open and walked across to the table her students had chosen.

"You all want coffee?" Rika called across the room as she watched the group settle down.

She was met by loud agreement from all the students and smiled to herself as she turned away to start preparing it. Rin appeared at the counter moments later and dropped down into a seat tiredly, not bothering to look around her as she rested her head on the cool metal counter and closed her eyes. Rika smiled and patted her head as she went past.

"Tough day?" Rika asked.

"No. Just long, very long," Rin murmured and sat up slowly.

"Only a couple of hours to go now," Rika said comfortingly. "There's someone you should meet."

"Who?" Rin asked, lifting her glasses and rubbing her eyes wearily.

"This is the chef who will be giving those lessons I told you about earlier."

Sighing to herself, Rin put her glasses back in place and turned around in her seat, wondering who she was about to meet. Her eyes widened when she found Sesshoumaru Taisho sitting in front of her. His amber eyes turned to regard her and his eyebrows rose slightly as he seemed to recognise her.

"You were with Inuyasha the other day," he said slowly.

"You know Rin?" Rika asked in surprise. "She spends so much time here on campus that I'm surprised anyone other than the staff here know her!"

"Rika! He doesn't want to know about my personal life!" Rin exclaimed with a vague smile pulling her lips.

"You're Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked, surprise evident in his eyes. "You're Rin? That friend of Inuyasha's from all those years ago?"

"Yes, I am."

"I would never have recognised you."

"That much is obvious," Rin said quietly and watched as Rika began preparing the coffee.

"You've changed so much."

"So have you."

"What are you doing here? Are you a student?" Sesshoumaru inquired, looking at her curiously.

"No, I'm a lecturer," Rin replied, wondering why he was showing such an interest in her when he hadn't been in the least bit concerned about her before.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That is a surprise."

"It was nice seeing you again," Rin replied, pasting her smile onto her face as she got to her feet and took the tray from Rika's hands. "Perhaps we'll meet again, but I've got a study session to oversee."

Sesshoumaru turned in his seat and watched as Rin wandered over to a large table of students who were all talking loudly and cheerfully. He couldn't quite believe his eyes as he watched Rin talk happily with the various students. She was completely different from what he remembered and although he had never been particularly close to her or taken much notice of her before going abroad, there was no questioning the fact that she had changed drastically. A discreet cough from behind him drew his attention and he turned around to find Rika grinning at him as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him.

"It's a surprise to discover that you know Rin," she said with a smile as she picked up her own cup of coffee and sat down just behind the counter.

"I don't know her very well. She's friends with my brother."

"Oh, I see!" Rika said in understanding and then smiled as she looked at her friend from across the room. "She's quite amazing."

"Oh?"

"Yup! She pulled this place back from the brink of being torn down and just look at us now!"

"She runs this place?"

"Oh no!" Rika laughed to herself before looking seriously at the man sitting opposite her. "Technically, Rin should run this place since she's responsible for it being as successful as it is, but I run it and she comes in to check up every now and then."

"Only every now and then?" Sesshoumaru asked, trying hard to hide his curiosity.

"She's very busy nowadays so she doesn't have the time to come by for lunch like she used to."

"Rin suddenly became busy?"

"Pretty much. She started getting a lot more classes and extra work to do after the senior members of her department realised how popular she was with the students."

"I see." The pair sat in silence as they thought about their conversation before Sesshoumaru drained his coffee cup and got to his feet. "I've got a lesson to give."

Rin looked up from a book she had been looking at when she heard the sound of the door opening. Her eyes met Sesshoumaru's amber ones as he turned to shut the door behind him as he stepped out and he nodded slightly, lifting his hand slightly as though to wave goodbye. Slightly puzzled at his behaviour, Rin returned the gesture hesitantly and pushed her glasses up as she watched him disappear down the corridor. Shaking her head, Rin turned her attention to the student beside her as she pushed thoughts of Sesshoumaru aside. She was probably not going to see him again for a long time and his decision to wave goodbye to her was probably just a one off, spur of the moment decision that had no particular meaning behind it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

After agreeing to teach evening cookery classes at the university, Sesshoumaru found himself sitting in the little café quite often in the late afternoon as he waited for the appropriate time to head towards his appointed classroom. During the times he was there, he frequently saw Rin arrive with crowds of students for what he assumed were extra study sessions and other times she would arrive before her students. The pair rarely spoke and usually only nodded greetings to each other which Rika seemed to find immensely amusing for a reason neither of them could understand. Sesshoumaru would watch as Rin interacted with her students until leaving for his classes and soon realised that Rika had been correct in saying that Rin was popular with the students. He mused that he had never paid much attention to Rin when they were growing up and now he was beginning to understand why his brother was so attached to her.

It soon became obvious to him that Rin had two smiles and after spending so much time in the café observing her quietly, he could now easily differentiate between the two. The smile she gave him and all other members of staff at the university seemed to be forced at times, but the smiles she gave her students were always genuine. Every one of her students seemed to get a different reaction from her and he had never once seen her raise her voice or berate anyone, as he knew most teachers would do when being constantly asked for help. As he watched her, Sesshoumaru found himself amused by the way she always made sure everything on the table she sat at was neat and it soon became clear that Rika also found this amusing but neither of them questioned the quiet woman about her actions.

However, despite the fact that he had initially been content to simply observe his brother's friend, he soon became slightly irritated by the fact that she didn't seem to want to attempt conversation and he getting ever more curious about her. He remembered her only vaguely, but somehow, her current behaviour seemed to be at odds with what little he could remember of her when she was younger. Eventually, Sesshoumaru reached the end of his tether and decided that he would have to approach her and attempt conversation in order to satisfy his curiosity. He spent a long time trying to come up with a way to approach her, but none of his ideas seemed to work. The only times he saw her were when she was in the café for the study sessions and although he returned to the café after his classes were completed, Rin was either still talking to students or had already left which meant that he had no chance of speaking to her. Purely by chance though, one evening as he was returning to the café after his classes, his luck changed when he met Rika as she was leaving.

"I'm off home now! I've got the kids for the next few days so I'll be leaving early. I left a fresh pot of coffee in the café so help yourself," Rika said cheerfully and waved at him as she hurried away to her car.

Sesshoumaru watched her leave and thought over her words before turning and slowly making his way over to the café. He already knew that Rika was divorced and had two young children since she had told him about it not too long ago although he couldn't remember how they had gotten to talking about that sort of thing. Sesshoumaru was just musing about how awkward life must be for those children as he walked into the café when something caught his eye. Glancing across the room towards the seating at the back of the room, amber eyes widened as they fell on a woman who was slumped over the table in front of her. Slightly confused about the woman's behaviour, he made his way across the room to find out what was wrong and he was surprised to find that the woman was, in fact, Rin. He stared down at her for a little while before shaking his head and going across to the counter where he had spotted the coffee Rika had left. After pouring himself a cup, he slid into the seat opposite Rin and watched her silently for a little while. It was obvious that she was asleep and after a brief debate with himself, Sesshoumaru decided that it was best to just leave her to sleep as she must be in need of it if she had fallen asleep in the café.

After what seemed like hours, Rin's eyes fluttered and opened slowly. She sighed softly as she pushed herself up and looked around her with a slightly bewildered look on her face. When her eyes fell on the man sitting opposite her, they widened and she frowned slightly, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times as she tried to form the words to voice her questions but failed and eventually gave up. Sighing again, she leaned back and stared up at the ceiling for a moment before a soft tap caught her attention and she looked down to find a mug of coffee in front of her. Nodding her thanks to Sesshoumaru, she wrapped her fingers around the mug and took a sip before sighing again, this time in satisfaction.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked eventually, looking across the table to Sesshoumaru who was watching her with a slightly amused look in his eyes.

"I don't know. You were asleep when I got here."

"How long have you been here?"

Sesshoumaru looked at his watched and smirked. "An hour and a half."

Rin stared at him in surprise and then shook her head before taking another sip of coffee. She had been working hard lately and her day seemed so much longer after she started helping with the study session, but she hadn't really thought she was very tired. Evidently though, she was really very tired if she had fallen asleep in the café and waking up to find Sesshoumaru sitting quietly with her was a surprise and slightly unnerving. It was strange behaviour for the man who had until recently not really cared much for her existence.

"How much longer do you have to help with these study sessions?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly after a long silence.

"About two weeks, I think," she replied, looking thoughtful as she spoke.

"What happens after that?"

"I go back to my normal schedule."

"I think you're being overworked."

Rin shrugged. "It doesn't matter. My first responsibility is my students. They've been working so hard, it's only right that I help them as much as I can."

"That's admirable."

"Why is it that you are teaching here? Aren't you busy with your restaurant?" Rin asked curiously.

"They can manage without me for a few hours a week."

"I see."

Frowning slightly at the lack of response from the man, Rin began gathering the books that were scattered across the table. She had known that she probably wouldn't have gotten much of a response from Sesshoumaru, but she had thought that he might be a bit more informative than that. Pushing the thoughts aside, she sighed to herself as she looked at the growing piles of books and knew that she was going to have to make at least two journeys back to the classroom. Normally her students helped her carry the books back, but they had left and she was left to do the task alone. Getting to her feet, she picked up the first stack of books and staggered slightly under the weight of them before making her way towards the door. A gasp left her lips when the books were lifted out of her arms and she turned in surprise to find Sesshoumaru easily holding the pile she had been struggling with. Her eyes widened as he took a few more of the books off the pile that sat on the table and she wondered when he had become strong. He had never appeared very strong when he was younger, but perhaps that was just a façade? Nodding her thanks, Rin picked up the smaller stack on the table and headed towards the door.

Sesshoumaru held the door open for her and as she slipped past him, he caught the scent of her perfume. Immediately, he identified the scent as vanilla and smirked to himself as he followed her down the dimly lit corridors. He had only been to one part of the university and he marvelled at the size of the place as he followed Rin through the maze of corridors. She was confident and knew exactly where she was going, but he supposed that was to be expected of someone who worked in the place every day. His thoughts turning back to Rin, he looked down at the slightly shorter woman who walked just ahead of him. Her face was void of expression and looked straight ahead of her, not once glancing at the man beside her. Sesshoumaru smirked again and took the time to look her over. As a teenager she had been slightly plump, but it was obvious now that that was just puppy fat as it had all disappeared and in the place of the plump girl he used to know was a slim woman with an enticing hourglass figure. Her shoulder-length hair had grown out, but he couldn't tell how long it was since it was tied up neatly at the nape of her neck. Thinking about the Rin he was now faced with, Sesshoumaru decided that what had floored him the most was the change in her behaviour. From what he could remember, she had been a cheerful girl even though she had been timid, but there was no trace of the girl now. The Rin who walked beside him now was quiet, serious and dedicated to her work. It was a drastic change.

"We're here," Rin said quietly, breaking into his thoughts as she pushed the door to her office open.

"Here?"

"My office."

Rin turned the light on and walked over to her desk where she put down her pile of books and Sesshoumaru followed suit, stepping back as he watched her move around the room. She gestured to the seat behind her desk and he sat down, guessing that she still had something to do before leaving and he was not going to attempt to find his way back to the café on his own lest he get lost. Glancing around the room, it was obvious that Rin was very neat and it seemed that everything was in its own place. Sesshoumaru smirked to himself when he realised that the pens on her desk were arranged according to colour and the books that sat on her rather large bookcase were arranged according to size and subject. He marvelled at her organisational skills, it was no wonder that she had managed to make the café as successful as it was if she was so organised. The woman in question moved over to the pile of books that sat on her desk and picked up a couple before heading over to a different but equally large bookcase on the other side of the room. Sesshoumaru watched as she carefully stacked them and wondered if she was so particular about everything or if it was just her work.

"You don't have to stay," Rin said quietly, examining the books she had just stacked in the bookcase. "I'll be here a while."

"It'll be best if I wait for you," Sesshoumaru replied. "I think I might get lost if I tried to find the way out alone."

Rin said nothing as she turned around to pick up a couple of books from the desk Sesshoumaru sat beside, but a tiny smile curved her lips at his confession. She turned back to the bookcase and began putting away the few remaining books, wondering if she should forgo the usual way she made sure everything was in place before leaving since Sesshoumaru was with her and no doubt had places to go or people to see, but she quickly decided against it knowing that she would not be able to leave the room as it was.

"Could it be that you do not have a good sense of direction?" she asked quietly.

"My sense of direction is fine, but I was not paying attention to where we were going while we were walking here," Sesshoumaru admitted.

"Is that so? Were you lost in your thoughts then?"

"You could say so."

"I see. They must have been captivating thoughts as I did not expect you of all people to not pay attention to your surroundings."

"How long have you worked here?" Sesshoumaru asked, ignoring her statement completely as he decided to attempt conversation with her.

"A year and a half."

"I would never have thought that you would become a teacher."

"Hm. I would never have thought you would become a chef."

"Yes, that surprised quite a few people."

"That's to be expected. You were supposed to work in the family firm, were you not?"

"Indeed. How did you know?"

"I have known your family for a long time," Rin said with a vague smile as she turned around to deal with the papers on her desk. Her gaze fell on him briefly and she looked away quickly, pushing up her glasses as she did so. "I know a lot about your family."

"I suppose that it true. You have been friends with Inuyasha for many years now, haven't you?"

"Twenty years to be exact," Rin murmured.

"It's been that long already?" Sesshoumaru asked in surprise and immediately began wondering how old she was when she met Inuyasha since she didn't look much older than twenty.

"It has. Going to back to our original conversation though, there is very little about the Taisho family that I do not know."

"Does that also work the other way around?"

"I'm sorry?" Rin paused and looked at him in confusion.

"Does our family know a lot about your family?"

Rin looked thoughtful for a moment before turning back to the papers she was putting away. "The only member of your family that knows about a great deal about my family is Inuyasha. I don't believe my family has ever come up in conversation with your parents."

"I see. You like your privacy then?" Sesshoumaru asked with a smirk.

"Yes, I do, but in this case the fact that only Inuyasha knows about my family has very little to do with privacy and more to do with the fact that it's not really worth talking about."

The pair sat in silence in the wake of that statement and Sesshoumaru couldn't help but frown as he replayed the words in his head over and over again. The words disturbed him somehow and he wasn't entirely sure why he felt that way, but eventually, he gave up trying to decipher the meaning behind those cryptic words. Rin's sigh made him look in her direction and he saw that she had finished putting away her papers. After Rin had picked up her bag and a couple of books, the pair walked slowly down the corridors to the car park.

"What did you think of the restaurant?" Sesshoumaru asked after a while, unable to stand the awkward silence much longer.

"It was pleasant and the food was good."

"Will you be returning?"

"Probably not," Rin said honestly.

"Oh?"

"It's a shame, but it's too expensive for me."

"I see. That is a shame."

Eventually they reached the car park and Sesshoumaru came to a stop beside a black car. Rin paused and turned to face him to thank him for helping her carry the books to the classroom, but her words were never voiced as Sesshoumaru interrupted her.

"You're going home?" he asked.

Rin nodded. "I need to go shopping first, but yes, I will go home."

"Is it not a bit late for shopping?"

"I have not had much time for food shopping," Rin said simply.

"In that case, would you allow me to treat you to dinner?"

"I'm sorry?" Rin raised an eyebrow at the tall man.

"I have to go to the restaurant now. Come with me and you can have dinner there."

"It's too expensive."

"I said 'treat,' did I not?"

* * *

After being given no chance to refuse the offer, Rin found herself sitting at a small table in the kitchen at the restaurant less than a quarter of an hour later. She had been surprised when she was ushered into the kitchen and not into the dining area, but she found that it was far more interesting to watch the chefs than to simply wait for the food. Her seat was well out of the way of the chefs, but she had a clear view of the whole kitchen and she was amazed by the speed at which everyone worked at. Her gaze fell on Sesshoumaru and she marvelled at how easy he made everything look when she knew that if she was to attempt anything that he was cooking, she would probably give herself food poisoning.

Fortunately for Rin, the restaurant closed after only a couple of hours after she arrived as Sesshoumaru had only arrived halfway through the evening. Even though it was interesting watching the chefs cook, it could only hold one's attention for so long. At the end of the evening, Rin watched as the chef's began cleaning up and she closed her eyes and sighed to herself as she watched them stack away their now clean utensils. She desperately wanted to reorganise the untidy looking work areas, but decided that it would be rude to do so and it took a lot of her willpower not to rearrange everything. Eventually, only she and Sesshoumaru were left and she watched as Sesshoumaru prepared a meal for them both. Sesshoumaru looked up when he felt a presence beside him and saw Rin standing beside him with a slight frown on her face.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, turning his gaze back to the food he was preparing.

"No, nothing's wrong," Rin replied in a distracted voice as her gaze landed on the pile of cutlery on the surface beside Sesshoumaru.

Glancing at her again, Sesshoumaru noticed her gaze on the mixed up cutlery that had been left on his work surface and smirked to himself. He knew that she was a very neat person and he was sure that the sight of such an untidy room would not sit well with her. Rin was frowning at the cutlery as though she thought she could intimidate it into rearranging itself and after he managed to contain his amusement at her behaviour, Sesshoumaru managed to speak.

"Go ahead," he said quietly, nodding to the cutlery before returning his gaze to the food.

Rin paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes at the tall man beside her, trying to decide if he was teasing her or if he was being serious, but eventually she gave up and reached for the cutlery. Sesshoumaru watched from the corner of his eye and was surprised at how fast she had managed to sort everything into neat piles, but he supposed that she had a lot of practice at rearranging things. Her soft sigh when she was finished almost made him smile, but he quickly turned his attention back to the food that had finished cooking while he had been observing Rin's antics.

"I'm sorry," Rin said sheepishly as she looked at the neatly arranged cutlery. "I can't help myself sometimes."

"I'm not complaining," Sesshoumaru replied with a smirk. "It would have stayed like that if you had not sorted it out. I don't have the patience to rearrange my work area every night."

As the pair sat down to eat, Rin looked thoughtfully at the elder Taisho son. He was very different from what she imagined he would be like, but she was glad that the cold attitude of his seemed to have softened somewhat since he had been away. He wasn't nearly as arrogant as he used to be either and Rin decided that going to study abroad had been a good thing for him. Smiling to herself, she wondered if maybe he wasn't such a bad person after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

Rin didn't quite know what to make of the situation she had found herself in when she had ended up having dinner with Sesshoumaru at his restaurant and had decided that the best thing to do was to keep some distance between them so that she could think over the situation clearly. Finding time away from Sesshoumaru had become increasingly difficult as he was often in the café where most of her study sessions were held and eventually she decided that the best option was to change the venue of their study sessions. The café was a comfortable environment, but it also wasn't really a very practical place for the sessions to be held as all resources had to be brought from the classroom and then taken back again. After much consideration, Rin decided that the best place to hold the sessions was the library since her usual classroom was already occupied by another member of her department who also helped with study sessions. Her students had understandably been slightly upset by the change of location, but had readily agreed when she told them that they would be able to study better in the library.

The study session's change of location was not lost on Sesshoumaru and he was slightly disappointed that Rin would no longer be in the café where he seemed to spend the majority of his time when he was not teaching his classes. Rika too seemed slightly upset by this, but she made no comment on her feelings about the change. Despite the fact that the location had changed, Rin always went to the café to fetch some coffee for her hard working students. As normal, she would nod her greeting to Sesshoumaru and then talk briefly with Rika before disappearing with the coffee and promising to return the cups and tray later. Rin tried her hardest to avoid Sesshoumaru since he had thrown her mind into such turmoil, but her efforts were wasted when she found herself cornered after work by a very cheerful Kagome and a grinning Inuyasha.

"It sets me on edge when both of you are in good moods at the same time," Rin said slowly, eyeing her friends carefully as she waited for them to speak.

"We don't argue all the time!" Kagome said with a smile as she looked up at Inuyasha. "But that's not why we wanted to se you."

"Oh? You came to see me for a reason and not to set me on edge with your good humour?" Rin asked with a vague smile.

"Come to lunch at my parents' house on Sunday afternoon," Inuyasha said with a smile.

"That's not what I expected at all," Rin confessed, looking slightly puzzled by the request.

"It's important, will you come?" Inuyasha asked, looking at her seriously.

"If it is as important as you say, then yes, I will come."

After agreeing to Inuyasha's request, Rin spent the rest of the week wondering what it was that could be so important, but eventually she gave up trying to guess what it was and waited until the day dawned when she would find out. Sunday was a bright, sunny day and Rin sighed to herself as she looked around the impressive houses that lined the street she walked down until she saw a familiar one coming into view. She had been to Inuyasha's parents' home so many times that at one point it was almost like a second home for her, but she had not been there in a long time. The door was answered by Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother, and Rin found herself enveloped in a hug and showered in kisses as she was led out into the back garden where they were apparently having lunch. After greeting everyone, she was once again enveloped in a hug as Inuyasha's father, Inutaisho, greeted her with his usual exuberance. When she was eventually released, Rin sighed to herself and sank down into a nearby chair. Izayoi was happily talking about things that had happened since she had last seen Rin until Inutaisho grinned widely.

"Rin!" he boomed, causing her to jump in her seat slightly from fright. "Sesshoumaru's come back! Have you seen him since he got back? He's a changed man!"

"Yes, I have seen him," Rin replied quietly, wondering if meeting him today would be awkward after having avoided him for a week.

"I bet he wasn't what you expected," Inutaisho said with a grin that made Rin wary of his intentions.

"No, he was not what I expected," she admitted.

"We have already had this discussion, is there a need to have it again?" a deep voice that was unmistakably Sesshoumaru's asked.

"Ah, there you are, dear," Izayoi said with a smile as she pulled up a chair between her and Rin before turning her attention to Inuyasha and Kagome. "Sit down, I'm anxious to hear why we were called together today."

Rin nodded a greeting when Sesshoumaru sat down beside her and then turned her attention to her friends as well. Curiosity had been eating away at her for the past week since they had invited her here and she was eager to know what was going on. Glancing at the man beside her, she noticed that he didn't seem to be the least bit interested in what was going on and she guessed that he had probably only agreed to come today to get Inuyasha to stop asking. Inuyasha grinned when he saw that they were the centre of attention and looked down at Kagome briefly before looking at everyone again.

"We arranged this because we have something we want to tell you," he said with a smile.

"You're going to inherit the company from me when I retire!" Inutaisho suggested with a grin.

"No, father, but I'd like to talk to you about that later actually," Inuyasha replied. "We wanted to tell you that we're going to get married."

Silence met that statement until Izayoi squealed in delight and rushed toward the newly engaged couple to congratulate them. Rin smiled as she watched Inutaisho and Izayoi fuss over the pair happily and ask for details about the proposal. Sesshoumaru had remained silent throughout the conversation and Rin looked at him curiously. He looked at her when he noticed her attention on him and sent her a questioning look.

"What do you think?" Rin asked.

"It's about time this happened," Sesshoumaru replied with a shrug.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Inutaisho said suddenly. "Rin, there's something I want to discuss with you later."

Rin didn't get a chance to question him or to reply as his attention was soon focused on his younger son again. Sighing to herself, she sank down in her chair and wondered what it was that Inutaisho could want to talk to her about. The conversations they had were rarely serious, but this sounded different and it unnerved her.

* * *

The afternoon passed quickly and there was much excitement after the announcement, but despite the good news her friends had just shared, Rin was anxious about the conversation she had yet to have with Inutaisho. Inuyasha and Kagome eventually left and Sesshoumaru offered to help Izayoi tidy up which left only Rin and Inutaisho. The older man smiled at her and suggested they go to his study to talk and Rin reluctantly agreed. She had been in his study several times when she was younger and had always quite liked it, but now she felt on edge and the room she had once loved intimidated her slightly. Inutaisho sat down and gestured for her to do the same and the pair sat in silence for a while until Inutaisho cleared his throat and looked at her seriously.

"I know you're anxious about this and I apologise for being the cause of your anxiety," he said sincerely. "However, there is something I need to talk to you about and it's not really an easy topic of conversation so forgive me if I am blunt as I don't really know how else to say this."

"Say what?" Rin asked, now completely confused.

"I have a proposition for you," Inutaisho said slowly. "Although it will sound absurd, I hope that you will take it seriously and think it over carefully."

"What kind of proposition?"

"Sesshoumaru is my eldest son and even though he has decided that he will not work with our company, he is still well known to the public, probably more so now after the opening of his restaurant. What I'm trying to say is that there are certain things expected of him that cannot be ignored."

"What does this have to do with me?" Rin asked. "I know about what is expected of both of them, but I fail to see how this affects me."

Inutaisho smiled. "You do know a lot about this family, I sometimes forget that. Regardless of what you do know though, what I'm saying is that even though Sesshoumaru is not going to inherit the company from me when I retire, he is building a business of his own. That means that he must have an heir to inherit it when he retires years from now and to have an heir, he must have a wife."

"Yes, that's usually how things like that work," Rin agreed, thoroughly confused as to why Inutaisho was discussing his son's future with her of all people. "I still don't understand what this has to do with me."

Inutaisho sighed to himself and got to his feet. Rin watched as he walked around the desk and sat on the edge of it just in front of her and smiled at her. Instinct told her that she probably wasn't going to like what she was going to hear, but curiosity prevented her from walking out of the room and declining whatever proposition Inutaisho had in mind.

"I do hope you'll forgive me for asking such a thing of you," Inutaisho said with a slight frown. "This involves you because I would like you to marry Sesshoumaru."

Rin stared at the older man in surprise and found herself unable to form words as she tried to get her mind around what he had just asked of her. Part of her wondered if she was hearing things, but she knew that it wasn't true. Sighing softly, she lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes as she wondered what she was supposed to say to that. Was she supposed to agree just like that? Should she decline? At the very least, she should question why she had been the one chosen to marry him and not an aristocrat that would probably be more socially acceptable. When Rin was finally able to speak, she pushed her glasses up and looked at the elder Taisho seriously.

"You said that he needs and heir and that is true and it is also true that he needs a wife to produce that heir," Rin said tonelessly as she went through everything she had heard. "I do not question the reasoning behind that, but I feel that I must question why I am the one to marry him? I have nothing against him, but I barely know him and there must be other women in the world who are more suited to be his wife than I am. Would it not be better for him to marry an aristocrat instead of a teacher?"

"You are right when you say an aristocrat would be a better candidate to be his wife," Inutaisho agreed, nodding as he spoke. "However, I am trying to look at this from his perspective."

Rin frowned. "If you are trying to look at this from his perspective, would it not be better to let him choose his wife himself?"

"A valid point, but he does not seem to be interested in looking for a wife."

"Perhaps he's not ready to marry just yet?"

"Maybe so and in which case I regret pushing him into one, but it must be done. If he knows that his future is secure, then he can focus on the present and prosper at what he does."

"I suppose that makes sense," Rin agreed grudgingly. "But why me?"

"Like I said, I'm trying to look at this from his perspective and I think that he would be more comfortable in a marriage to someone he knows."

"He doesn't really know me though."

"That may be true, but you are not a stranger and I think that that will make a difference."

"I see."

"What I'm proposing is a marriage on convenience, Rin. I'm not asking you to fall in love with him."

"I understand," Rin said grimly. "You're asking us to be the picture perfect loving couple in public, but it doesn't really matter what happens outside the public eye?"

"Exactly."

"I understand what you're trying to do and I think it's admirable that you would go so far for your son, but have you considered that I might be in a relationship?"

"No," Inutaisho admitted. "Truthfully I had not considered that. I simply hoped that you wouldn't be. Are you?"

"No, I am not," Rin said with a vague smile. "I was just wondering how serious you were about me being his wife."

"I wouldn't ask you to end a relationship for this, Rin," the older man said with a smile. "But since you are not in any relationship, would you at least consider this proposal?"

"I will consider it, but first you must tell Sesshoumaru about this discussion."

"Very well, I'll tell him."

* * *

In the days following her discussion with Inutaisho, Rin did consider the proposal and tried very hard to find a long list of reasons why she shouldn't accept it, but in the end she found herself unable to come to a decision. She decided that she would not discuss this with her friends since they were happily planning their own marriage and she would try and make a decision on her own. Eventually, Rin realised that this was probably not possible and with that thought in mind, she found herself sitting at a small table in the corner of Sesshoumaru's restaurant late one evening as she waited for the place to close. She soon realised that she could not make this decision alone and hearing what he thought might help her decide. When everyone had finally left, Rin made her way to the kitchen and looked in. Everything was a mess just like the last time she had been there and everyone was talking happily as they prepared to go home. Sesshoumaru was nowhere in sight and she decided that she would simply wait for him to return.

When Sesshoumaru returned to the kitchen, he relished the silence and enjoyed the solitude that came with being alone in the kitchen so late at night. He found that he enjoyed eating his evening meals in the kitchen more than in his own apartment and as he walked back into the kitchen with the ingredients for his dinner, a discreet cough caught his attention. Frowning slightly, Sesshoumaru turned around to see which member of his staff had not yet gone home and his eyes widened when they landed on Rin's slim figure sitting demurely at the small table in the corner of the room. For a moment he wondered if his eyes were deceiving him, but she lifted her hand and gave him a half hearted wave as he set down his ingredients and approached her.

"Rin?" he asked stupidly.

"Yes?" she asked, wondering if maybe a surprise visit had been a bad idea.

"What are you doing here?"

"Uh, well, I think there's something we need to discuss," Rin replied, nervously tugging the sleeves of her shirt.

"I assume that this is about what my father said?"

"Yes."

"Hm. I agree, it is definitely something we need to discuss."

Rin watched as he walked across the kitchen and began preparing a meal just as he had done before. She smiled slightly at the familiar action and walked across to see if his work area was a mess like it had been the last time. Much to her surprise, everything was neatly arranged in exactly the same way she had arranged it. Sesshoumaru glanced at her briefly but didn't comment as he focused on the food and Rin sighed softly.

"I'm sorry my father asked such a ridiculous question," Sesshoumaru said quietly after a long silence.

"It was just a surprise," Rin replied, rubbing her eyes wearily. "I can understand that he's only trying to ensure you have a secure future."

"I am grateful for that, but this affects you as well as me. You realise that he's asking you to bear my child at some point in the future?"

Silence met that statement. Rin froze in place and felt slightly stupid for not having realised that earlier. She had not even considered that if she were the one who married Sesshoumaru, she would be the mother of his heir. Although the idea of being a mother in the future was appealing, she wasn't entirely sure that being the mother of Sesshoumaru's child was what she wanted. It would mean becoming intimate with a man who she knew did not care for her in a romantic sense and then going through the pregnancy all for the sake of a marriage of convenience. Rin cared very much for the members of the Taisho family and would eagerly help them in any way, but she wondered if this was a request that she could see through.

"I had not realised that," Rin admitted sheepishly.

Sesshoumaru said nothing as he placed a plate of food in front of her and sat down heavily opposite her. The pair ate in silence as they thought about their situation. Although he was opposed to the idea of a marriage of convenience, Sesshoumaru could understand his father's reasons for choosing Rin and he agreed that she was the best choice. Truthfully, he did not mind the idea of a marriage of convenience so much if his wife would be Rin. Although he did not know her very well, he felt comfortable in her presence and she seemed to feel the same since she was not hurrying to leave. If a child had not been mentioned, he was sure that he could agree to this idea without hesitation, but he knew that asking a woman who he did not love and who did not love him to marry him and eventually bear his child was asking for quite a lot more than most people would be willing to give.

"Theoretically, this idea should work fine," Rin said slowly, looking intently at her food. "However, I do have some concerns."

"What are they?" Sesshoumaru asked looking at her closely.

"If we did get married, what would happen if either you or I fell in love with someone?"

"I think it would depend on who that person is."

"What do you mean?"

"It would be helpful if we were to fall in love with each other and that is a possibility, but there is also a possibility that we would not. If we did not and then fell in love with someone else, that could cause problems, but I think in that situation we would divorce."

"I see. It's really quite a simple decision then if that's the case," Rin said thoughtfully.

"It is?"

"I have a suggestion."

"What's that?" Sesshoumaru queried, turning his attention to Rin.

"I think that the basic idea of securing your future is sound and no one but us can decide whether or not to have a child. Therefore, we should put aside the notion of children for the moment. I think the most problematic situation we face is if one of us falls in love with another person, so I think that if we do marry, then we should give it a trial period."

"A trial period?"

"Yes. What I mean is that we don't even consider having children for a least the first year of the marriage. During that year, we can get to know each other and get used to living together. If neither of us has fallen in love with someone else, then we start to take things a bit more seriously and see how it develops."

"So you mean we should just take things slowly?"

"To put it simply, yes."

"I think that's a good idea," Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully, pushing aside his plate and leaning back in his chair. "If we do this, then we are at least giving my father's idea a chance at success."

"Exactly," Rin agreed, nodding as she spoke.

"You have no objections to this plan then?"

"If we do it this way, I have no objections at all."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Very well. We should inform my father soon then."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

Inutaisho had been delighted when both Sesshoumaru and Rin had appeared in his office at work the very next day and informed him of their decision. The rest of the family found out soon enough and Kagome's immediate idea was to have the weddings on the same day. Rin had simply sighed and let them all talk amongst themselves while she was still trying to come to terms with the idea of getting married and to Sesshoumaru Taisho of all people. Similarly, Sesshoumaru was still trying to become accustomed to the idea of marriage, but somehow he was not feeling as anxious as he would be if it were someone other than Rin. He knew Rin was practical and he suspected that living as a couple would not be as awkward as they thought.

After everyone had congratulated them and exhausted themselves with talk of weddings, Sesshoumaru and Rin found themselves being driven to a jewellery store by Inutaisho's driver. The eldest Taisho had insisted that the pair find a suitable ring to make the engagement official and so Rin found herself standing in the middle of a store that she would never even bother looking at because of the expensive prices of the items. Sesshoumaru stood beside her and looked equally bewildered. He had never bought jewellery for anyone and he now found himself thrust into a situation he was not prepared for. One of the members of staff in the shop seemed to sense their bewilderment and came over to them with a cheerful smile.

"Good afternoon, may I help you?" she asked politely.

"Uh, we're looking for an engagement ring," Sesshoumaru replied, unable to believe that the words had left his lips.

"Congratulations!" the woman exclaimed cheerfully and led them over to a display cabinet in the corner of the room.

Rin almost gasped at the prices of the rings she saw in the cabinet, but managed to contain it with difficulty. In an attempt to hide her shock, she lifted her hand to push her glasses up and slowly brought it down again when she felt like she was more able to control her facial expressions. Sesshoumaru looked down at her and he seemed to understand her feelings as he patted her shoulder and gestured towards the rings.

"That silver one is nice, don't you think?" he asked, pointing out a simple silver ring.

"That's far too plain for an engagement ring!" the sales woman said with a grin and pointed out several other more elaborate ones.

"Uh, I think the silver one is the best," Rin said after a while.

The saleswoman had tried to persuade them otherwise, but had failed when Sesshoumaru eventually just told her which one they wanted in a cold tone. Rin had to admit the one that they had chosen was by far the prettiest despite it being plain in comparison to the others, but she felt overwhelmed when Sesshoumaru slid the ring onto her finger as they made their way back to the house. She stared at it for a long moment and then sighed to herself. Even though she was the one who had come up with the trial idea that they were now using, it was so surreal that she struggled to believe that the situation she found herself in was real.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we end up getting married on the same day as Inuyasha and Kagome," Sesshoumaru muttered as he looked out the window.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Rin asked, still staring at the ring on her finger in awe. "It's their big day and if they want to share it with us then we should be honoured."

Sesshoumaru turned to look at her curiously for a moment. "It's not just their day. It's your day as well."

"I'm sorry?"

"I have never given a wedding ceremony much thought, but I'm guessing that you must have done at some point in your life."

"Well, yes. I do recall discussing it with Kagome not too long ago."

"You may not be marrying the man of your dreams, but you're still getting married. Do you really want to remember your wedding day as a day shared with another?"

"I suppose not," Rin said with a sigh as she leaned back and looked out the window. "Would it not be troublesome if we didn't have the wedding on the same day?"

"Not particularly. Those that don't approve simply don't have to come," Sesshoumaru said with a shrug.

"Why are you being so supportive?" she asked curiously, turning slightly in her seat to look at him.

"Why shouldn't I be? I've heard enough from Kagome over the past few days to know that a wedding day is one of the most important days in a woman's life, or so I've been led to believe."

"Hm. Even if this is only a marriage of convenience, it's still _our_ wedding day. Will you help me plan it?"

"If you wish."

* * *

After their discussion in the car, Rin felt slightly more relaxed about the idea of marriage although she wasn't entirely sure what had put her at ease. She had been the centre of attention when she returned to work and her colleagues noticed her engagement ring and by the end of the day she felt utterly exhausted from smiling and trying to sound as excited as a normal bride-to-be would. Fortunately, her study sessions had come to an end and she no longer had to work long hours which meant that she could focus more on planning the wedding. Although Sesshoumaru had agreed to help her plan it, she was sure that he had simply agreed to put her at ease with the idea but she was not going to let him go back on his word.

It became a regular occurrence for her to arrive at the restaurant late at night when it closed with an armful of books and magazines. Sesshoumaru had initially been surprised to see her, but it soon became a routine for them to spend the remainder of the evening together. Rin seemed to want his opinion on just about everything and simply refused to make a decision without consulting him first which he supposed was good as she seemed to value his opinion and this was yet another aspect of her that he liked. However, despite the fact that he liked what he knew about her so far, Sesshoumaru was very aware that there was still a lot that he did not know and he wasn't entirely sure how to go about finding out more about her. Their busy schedules meant that they had little time together aside from the couple of hours when she came to the restaurant at night and he was at a loss.

Fortunately for him though, when his colleagues discovered the reason why Rin was visiting so often they decided that the best thing to do would be to take the couple out to celebrate. So late one evening after the restaurant closed, Rin found herself sitting in a bar surrounded by every member of Sesshoumaru's staff as they all celebrated their employer's engagement. The alcohol was flowing steadily and the group was growing tipsier and tipsier by the minute, but Rin noticed that Sesshoumaru was the only other person aside from herself who had not had excessive amounts of alcohol to drink. She did not know if Sesshoumaru drank alcohol regularly, but he had had more than she had since she very rarely drank and she smiled to herself as she watched him talking easily with his colleagues without his usual formal and serious nature.

"When's the wedding?" one man who Rin now knew was called Bankotsu slurred from beside her half way through the evening.

"We haven't set a date yet," Rin replied with a slight smile as she pushed her glasses up.

"Ah! You want to be careful, boss!" Bankotsu said loudly, catching Sesshoumaru's attention. "If you don't marry her soon, someone will steal her away from you!"

"She's a pretty one, boss!" another man called from the other side of the table and he winked suggestively at Sesshoumaru. "I bet she's a little tiger hiding behind that prim appearance!"

The men's raucous laughter echoed around the room and Rin blushed slightly at the suggestive turn the conversation had taken. Sesshoumaru said nothing and merely downed the remainder of his drink before ordering another. Sighing to herself, she watched the men's antics and patiently listened to their drunken stories for a while longer before one of the men approached her and asked her to dance. After a brief hesitation, she accepted and allowed herself to be led across the room to the dance floor. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru sat at the table and observed his colleagues quietly. Although he had had more to drink than he normally might have, he still very much aware of his surroundings and he was also very aware of the sudden empty space beside him.

Glancing down at the seat beside him, he noticed that Rin was no longer there and after a quick glance around the room, he spotted her on the dance floor with one of the members of staff from the restaurant. Each time he had seen her, she had been reserved and serious, but he had been sure that the happy go lucky attitude she used to have was still there somewhere and as he watched her dance, he saw that attitude resurface as a smile crossed her face. She laughed merrily as she was spun across the floor and when she eventually sat back down beside him, Sesshoumaru noted that her face was flushed from exertion, but her smile was still in place. Rin seemed to have relaxed and she quickly fell into conversation with one of the people nearby. While she talked happily, Sesshoumaru looked her over carefully. Her eyes were bright behind her glasses and long strands of dark hair had come loose from her usual bun. As he scrutinised her, he had to agree with the colleague earlier who had called her pretty, but he would go one step further and call her beautiful instead. Pretty didn't seem to do her justice.

Eventually the evening came to a close and Rin found herself standing outside the bar beside Sesshoumaru as they said goodbye to their now drunken companions. She watched in amusement as they all staggered away down the street, shouting to each other as they tried to hold a conversation. Sesshoumaru sighed softly and she looked up at him curiously. It was obvious that he had had too much to drink, but she was glad that he had not had as much as his colleagues had. Tugging his sleeve gently, Rin pulled him towards a taxi nearby and gave the driver her address. Sesshoumaru didn't question her actions and leaned back against the seat to stare at the roof. He glanced down at her a short while later when he felt Rin tugging his sleeve again and he got out of the taxi, looking around him as he tried to identify his location. Rin guided him down the path to a small house and ushered him inside before switching on the light. Sesshoumaru stood in the middle of the room blinking owlishly as his eyes adjusted to the sudden bright light and once they were adjusted, he immediately realised that he was in Rin's home. Before he could question her, Rin took his arm and led him down the corridor to a bedroom.

"You can stay here tonight," she said quietly as she turned on the light to reveal a small, but very neat bedroom. "My room is next door, so knock if you need anything."

Sesshoumaru watched her leave the room before looking around again. He was just about to sit down on the edge of the bed when the door opened and Rin came into the room. She smiled apologetically and pulled him out of the room and into the one next door which she had just said was her own. He looked at her quizzically as she made her way to the door.

"Sorry," Rin apologised. "You can stay in this room. I just realised that my bed is bigger than the one in the spare room."

"Is a bigger bed necessary?" Sesshoumaru asked, not understanding the need to change rooms.

"You'll be too tall for the other bed."

"I see."

Without another word, Rin closed the door behind her as she stepped out and Sesshoumaru was once again left alone. He looked around him and was amazed that he was to spend the night in her room, in her bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled off his jacket and took off his shoes as he looked around again. The dresser in the corner of the room was covered with various items that were all neatly arranged and he smirked at that before his gaze landed on the table beside her bed where several framed photographs sat. A group photo of her and all her friends sat beside one of Kagome and Inuyasha while a third smaller picture stood at the back, but he didn't recognise the trio of people in the picture. Sighing softly, he slipped beneath the covers and inhaled deeply. The scent of vanilla teased his senses and just before he fell asleep, he briefly wondered if they would share a bed if they married and he couldn't help but hope they did.

* * *

The soft sound of a door closing woke Sesshoumaru the next morning. He groaned softly and cracked an eye open, looking for the source of the sound. Both eyes snapped open when they landed on Rin who was pulling on a pair of shoes just in front of the wardrobe. She straightened and her gaze fell on him, her eyes widening when she saw amber eyes staring back at her. Smiling slightly she pulled on a jacket that was draped over the back of a nearby chair.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she said, turning around to pick up a few hair clips to secure her hair. "I forgot to take my clothes for today with me last night."

"Where are you going?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.

"Work," Rin said with a smile. "I don't know what time you start work, but you can stay here as long as you like. There's food in the refrigerator and I'm sure you can find anything else you might need."

Sesshoumaru nodded and fell back against the pillows, watching as Rin moved around the room, trying to get ready for work. He was slightly disappointed that he had not woken up a little earlier so he could see her with her hair down, but he supposed that he would see her like that at some point. Rin paused at the foot of the bed and seemed to be about to ask him something when Sesshoumaru interrupted.

"Do you suppose this is what it'll be like after we get married?" he asked, closing his eyes as he inhaled the scent of vanilla again.

"I suppose it might be," Rin replied, looking thoughtfully at the man lying in her bed.

She didn't really know what to expect from their marriage, but as she looked at Sesshoumaru, she decided that waking up and seeing him every morning was definitely not a bad way to start the day. Little did she know that he was thinking the exact same thing as he looked back at her. Pushing away her thoughts, Rin picked up her bag and headed towards the door.

"I'll see you later," she said, waving goodbye as she headed towards the door.

"I don't even get a kiss goodbye?" Sesshoumaru asked in a teasing voice.

"We're not married yet. You'll have to wait a bit longer for that kind of domesticity," Rin replied with a smile.

Sesshoumaru smirked and waved half heartedly as she left the room. He stared up at the ceiling and thought about how strange it was to be waking up in a woman's bed instead of his own. There were many occasions while he was abroad when he spent the night in a woman's bed, but this time was very different. Even though he was sleeping in a woman's bed, he had slept alone and he had never experienced that before. Sighing to himself, he got up and made some breakfast before deciding that he should probably be going back to his own apartment, but quickly realised that he would have to give Rin her keys since she had left them with him.

When he was fully dressed, Sesshoumaru caught a taxi to the restaurant where he had left his car the night before. He spotted a few of his colleagues looking rather queasy and he couldn't help but smirk, glad that he had not drunk as much as they did the night before. As he made his way to the university where Rin worked, he thought about the events from the night before. Rin had clearly enjoyed herself the night before and he had discovered that she still had her fun loving nature hidden somewhere beneath her serious attitude, but he wondered if the night before had simply been a one-off. Although she had smiled that morning when he had teased her, Sesshoumaru noted that the smiles didn't quite reach her eyes. He had heard that eyes were windows to the soul and he wondered if he might learn something if he looked more closely at her eyes. He put the thought aside to consider in greater detail later as he approached the reception area of the university.

"Good morning, sir," the woman behind the desk greeted politely as she saw him enter the building. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I'm looking for Rin Nakamura," Sesshoumaru replied.

"I will give you directions to her office," the woman replied, reaching for what looked like a map of the campus.

"Thank you."

With the map in hand, Sesshoumaru somehow managed to navigate his way through the maze of corridors and eventually found himself outside her office. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited for a response. As he waited, his mind drifted back to the subject of eyes and he decided to take a good look at them. He wasn't entirely sure why he wanted to know more about her, but considering he was going to marry her, he supposed it would be a good idea to find out what his future wife was like. Knocking on the door again, Sesshoumaru wondered why there was no response but was soon greeted by the sight of another member of staff coming down the corridor.

"Good morning, sir," the man said pleasantly. "If you're looking for Rin, you're out of luck, I'm afraid. She's currently in the staff room, would you like me to take you to her?"

"Please."

The pair walked through the corridors to the staff room and by the time they got there, Sesshoumaru was hopelessly lost. He had always prided himself on having a good sense of direction, but for some reason, this building seemed to confuse him every time he stepped into it. The man who had led him to the staff room looked into the room and beckoned Rin over. Moments later, she stepped out of the door and was about to speak when she noticed Sesshoumaru standing beside her colleague. The man winked and left the pair alone.

"This is a surprise," Rin said quietly as she led the way back to her office. "What brings you here?"

"I brought your keys."

As he held out the keys to her, Sesshoumaru watched her face carefully and paid close attention to her eyes. He had not taken much notice of them before now and he briefly wondered why she chose to hide her eyes behind her glasses instead of wearing contacts. Her eyes were brown and framed by long thick eyelashes, but he could see nothing other than surprise in her eyes as she took the keys. As they spoke, Sesshoumaru was slightly disappointed to see very little emotion in her eyes despite the fact that she smiled several times. It was almost as though she had no emotions or she seemed to have perfected the blank look on her face that made her seem slightly indifferent to everything that went on around her. Sighing to himself, he realised that if he was going to find out anything about her, he would have to find another way since this was not working. After promising to see her later that night to continue the wedding preparations, Sesshoumaru decided that his best course of action would be to speak to the people that knew her best. As he left the campus, he made a beeline for his next destination - Inuyasha and Kagome's home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

Inuyasha sighed as he leaned back in his chair before glancing down at Kagome who sat beside him, fast asleep and curled into his side. Smiling slightly, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine what the wedding day would be like. The pair of them had been planning it for most of the day and it seemed that Kagome could no longer stay awake. He was just about to drift off to sleep when he heard someone knocking on the front door. Sighing, he got to his feet carefully so as not to wake Kagome and headed towards the door. Pulling it open, he was surprised to see his brother standing on the doorstep with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Sesh? What are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked in confusion as he stepped back to let his brother inside.

"There's something I need to talk to you about."

"I see. Well in that case, I've got something to do first."

Sesshoumaru followed his brother into the living room and watched silently as Inuyasha picked up his sleeping fiancée and disappeared down the corridor, presumably to put her in the bedroom. He was not the most emotional of men, but even he could see how much Inuyasha cared for the woman and he wondered if he would ever experience the same. The younger brother returned a short while later with two cups of coffee and sat down opposite his brother.

"What did you want to talk about?" Inuyasha asked as he began gathering up the books and magazines that were scattered across the table.

"It's about Rin actually," Sesshoumaru said simply, deciding that it was best not beat around the bush.

"Oh? Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong…"

"Then what is it?" Inuyasha asked, sitting back and looking at his brother intently.

"As you know, I rarely paid attention to you or your friends when we were younger," Sesshoumaru said slowly. "I seem to remember that something was different then."

"Different? What do you mean?"

"My memory is vague, but I seem to remember Rin being different to the way she is now."

Inuyasha sighed and picked up his coffee before looking up with a serious expression. "You never paid much attention to any of us so I thought you wouldn't notice, but it seems I was wrong. You are more observant than I thought, Sesh."

"What are you talking about?"

There was a pause and Sesshoumaru watched as his brother leaned back in his seat and looked thoughtful. The pose reminded him a great deal of an old man about to tell a very long and probably quite boring story, but Sesshoumaru said nothing. It was rare for Inuyasha to look serious and he could only hope that he wasn't going to discover something he didn't want to know.

"Rin has changed," Inuyasha confirmed. "I suggest that you don't tell Rin that you know about this since it's a sensitive issue for her. If she ever tells you about it then her version will most likely be different to what I am going to tell you as I only witnessed it from an outsider's point of view. It was probably completely different for her."

"I see," Sesshoumaru frowned as he waited for his brother to continue.

"I met Rin when she was four years old and I was six. We both became friends with Kagome about a year later and we all became close."

"I already know this, Inuyasha. Get to the point."

"Patience, Sesh. This is a long story," Inuyasha admonished him with a frown before going back to his story. "We had been friends for about six years when Rin's parents were killed in a car accident. None of us know the details of what happened because we were young and Rin never wanted to know what happened so no one ever asked. You would never have guessed that the cheerful teenager who came by so often had been through such trauma, would you?"

"No, definitely not," Sesshoumaru agreed.

The pair sat in silence as Inuyasha seemed lost in his memories and Sesshoumaru tried to digest what he had just heard. There was no way he could have guessed that Rin had had such a traumatic experience when she was so young. Whenever he had seen her, she had always been smiling and laughing as though she had no cares at all. Sesshoumaru frowned as he tried sifted through his vague memories of her, trying to find at least a clue that would indicate how much pain she must've felt, but he found none.

"After her parents' death, Rin moved in with her older brother and he looked after her," Inuyasha continued, frowning slightly as he spoke. "Rin's brother was six years older than she was so he became her legal guardian and her only surviving relative, that she knew of anyway."

"Was?"

"Indeed. Was," Inuyasha said solemnly. "They lived together for nine years. When Rin was about sixteen, she and her brother moved to a different neighbourhood after he lost his job. Her brother became depressed about it and didn't try as hard to find a new job, convinced that he would lose it as well. After a while, he befriended some of the people in the area but unfortunately fell in with a bad group of people."

"I'm guessing that didn't end well?" Sesshoumaru asked, his expression serious as he listened.

"No, it didn't. He started drinking heavily and then eventually turned to drugs. Rin knew what he was doing but turned a blind eye, knowing he would not listen to her when she asked him to stop. All three of us pleaded with him to stop his bad lifestyle, but he never listened. It all came to an end shortly after Rin's nineteenth birthday," Inuyasha paused and grimaced as though remembering something painful. "Rin had a part time job and she was nearly finished college, but when she got home one day, she found her brother on the floor in the living room. Initially she assumed that he had passed out as he sometimes did after drinking too much, but she called me soon after her discovery and said that he wasn't breathing. He was rushed to hospital but there was nothing that could be done. His bad lifestyle had finally caught up with him and he died of a drug overdose."

Sesshoumaru stared at his brother in disbelief. When he had thought that something about Rin had changed, he had assumed it might have something to do with a family dispute, but he would never have guessed that she had been through so much. He had certainly opened a can of worms by asking about this and he could only wonder how he was supposed to act as though he didn't know about this when it was such a heartbreaking story.

"Needless to say, Rin was distraught," Inuyasha continued, sighing heavily. "She finished college but in the end didn't live up to her potential. She got into university the same year you left to go abroad and immersed herself in her studies and part time work. Kagome and I thought it was simply her way of coping with what had happened. She never spoke about it to anyone, but it was obvious to anyone who knew her situation that all was not right. She passed her first year of university with flying colours, but she still wasn't anything like the person she used to be. Half way through her second year, something happened and it pushed her over the edge. None of us know what it was, but her grief became too much for her to handle."

Inuyasha paused, picking up his coffee cup and taking a sip while Sesshoumaru waited to hear what happened next. The story was tragic, but it was captivating. It amazed him that so much had been going on around him and he hadn't even noticed. Sesshoumaru watched his brother frown down at the cup in his hand and felt dread begin to grow within him. Inuyasha had obviously been deeply affected by whatever had happened next and a part of Sesshoumaru wished that he had never come to ask about Rin. It was blatantly obvious that he was not going to like what he heard and Inuyasha seemed reluctant to speak of it, but he knew that he could not just leave it as it was. He needed to know what had happened.

"She stopped going to her classes, stopped seeing us and eventually stopped going out altogether," Inuyasha said hesitantly. "To this day she won't tell us what happened and I don't think she'll ever tell anyone, but it was serious whatever it was. We got worried after not seeing or hearing from her for a couple of days and went to her house to check on her. She wasn't there but we soon found her."

"Where was she?" Sesshoumaru asked curiously.

"Her brother's hobby was photography and he would take her to various places when he took photos. His favourite place was the ocean and he would often go to the pier to take pictures of the sunset and sunrise. Apparently that was also Rin's favourite place."

"She went there?"

"She did. She was standing on the end of the pier and almost fell off in shock when she saw us approaching. I feared for a moment that if she didn't have such good balance at the time, we may have finished the deed by surprising her," Inuyasha said, shuddering slightly at the memory.

"She tried to commit suicide?" Sesshoumaru asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Somehow, we managed to convince her not to and she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a while after that, but she's never been the same. Her smiles and good humour are mainly for show, but we pretend not to notice. There's no point digging up painful memories. Our parents know about this and so do the others. As far as we know, Rin thinks that only Kagome and I know the whole story. We can't bring back the person she used to be and we've tried so hard, but all we can do now is watch over her."

Inuyasha leaned back and waited patiently for his brother to come to terms with what he had just heard. It was no doubt a shock, but he certainly hoped that Sesshoumaru would not cause a scene about this. Sesshoumaru frowned and rubbed his eyes as he thought over what he had just heard. It was truly incredible that so much had happened to one person, but he wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do now. How would he be able to pretend that he didn't know something like this? Was he supposed to just play dumb and watch over her like everyone else did? He couldn't be with her all the time and even though he knew that everyone else probably felt the same way, Sesshoumaru struggled to come to terms with what he had heard. Sighing to himself, he propped his head up against the heel of his hand and closed his eyes as he wondered what to do.

"A marriage of convenience is troublesome enough," Sesshoumaru said quietly, speaking more to himself than to his brother. "But a marriage of convenience to a woman who's virtually emotionless and has suicidal tendencies is really pushing me to my limits."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "That is not what I was expecting to hear."

"I wish I'd never asked."

"You would most likely have found out eventually. Rin might have even told you herself, who knows?"

"This situation is becoming more and more troublesome."

"Troublesome?!" a female voice screeched indignantly from the doorway.

Both men turned in surprise to find Kagome standing in the doorway. She had evidently woken up at some point and had listened quietly to their conversation without interrupting. Her hair was tousled and her face was flushed as she stalked into the room and stopped behind the sofa Inuyasha sat on. Inuyasha flinched at the tone of her voice and decided it best to remain silent.

"Troublesome?" Kagome demanded, crossing her arms and looking angrily at Sesshoumaru. "You've just be told that Rin's an orphan who tried to commit suicide and all you can say is 'troublesome'?! Soon that woman is going to be your wife! Do you not think her situation needs a little more empathy than that?"

"Kagome…" Inuyasha attempted to placate her but backed away when she glared at him.

"You two are marrying because you care for each other. We are not marrying for that same reason. Our situations are completely different," Sesshoumaru said in a cold voice as he rose to his feet and started walking towards the door. "If we were simply going to be friends, then I would have more understanding. You must understand that if I marry her, I am essentially becoming her keeper. The one that looks over her and makes sure she doesn't do anything stupid. I have my own life to lead and my own future to take care of, I cannot spend my time running around after someone who may or may not decide to take her own life."

Leaving two stunned people in his wake of his callous statement, Sesshoumaru left the house and made his way to the café at the university to wait until his lessons were due to start. For the first time since he had come back to the country and seen Rin, he prayed that she would not visit the café and fortunately for him, she did not. As he walked down the corridors to the café, he occasionally glanced through the windows into the classrooms and he paused when he passed a class that Rin was teaching. Thinking about what Inuyasha had told him, Sesshoumaru scrutinised her carefully. He could not hear her voice through the thick glass, but he knew that it would be a soft and clear voice but utterly toneless. She moved confidently across the class as she spoke to various students and Sesshoumaru realised that it was a confidence born of indifference. Her face was completely void of emotion, but every so often she would smile and it would cause him to catch his breath as he watched. Contrary to what Inuyasha said, he knew that there were times when her smiles were not false and he sensed that she was a different person when she was with her students. Her serious manner would drop occasionally and a soft laugh would escape her lips that sent a tingle down his spine. In the company of her students, Rin's eyes seemed to dance with life that wasn't present when she was with anyone else.

Sighing in frustration, Sesshoumaru turned and continued down the corridor towards the café. The woman was an enigma. He sat down heavily and nodded his thanks when Rika placed a mug of coffee in front of him. Why did she act one way with her friends and another with her students? Was she simply being nice to her students? That couldn't be the reason since her good humour seemed genuine, but there was no reasonable explanation for her confusing behaviour.

"Trouble in paradise?" Rika asked with a sympathetic smile as she watched the quiet man clearly struggle with something.

"I suppose you could say that," Sesshoumaru agreed with a frown.

"What happened?"

Sesshoumaru stared into his coffee for a while before looking up and sighing. "She's such an enigma. I don't understand her at all."

"Perhaps you're thinking about it too much? There's probably a simple explanation."

"Maybe you can tell me why she acts one way around her students and the complete opposite around everyone else then?"

Rika looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. "Maybe something bad happened in her past."

"Maybe," Sesshoumaru agreed, playing dumb and resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the other woman's idea.

"If that's the case then maybe she's scared to get close to people?"

As soon as he heard the words, Sesshoumaru froze in his seat. He had not considered that and apparently, neither had his brother. It made sense that she would be scared to get close to people considering what had happened in the past, but surely that explanation was too simple? Frowning, he finished his coffee and waited for Rika to refill his cup. Even if that was the case, he still did not want to be the one constantly keeping an eye on her in case she did herself an injury or decided she'd had enough of living. He had goals he wanted achieve in his life and he did not have time to look after her as though she were made of glass. As time went on and the more he thought about it, the more he realised that marriage was beginning to look like a very bad idea.

* * *

Rin sighed as she put down her empty coffee cup and started to get to her feet. There were still things that needed to be planned for the wedding and she knew that if she left the house now, she would arrive at his restaurant just as everyone was leaving for the night. As she walked towards the building, she remembered a conversation she had had with Rika before leaving the campus. Rika had said something about Sesshoumaru being in a bad mood about something, but she didn't say what. Rin didn't ask what it was even though she was sure her friend knew that had caused Sesshoumaru's bad mood. Deciding to be cautious, she looked through the restaurant doors and waved at the few people who called out greetings to her. She was about to walk towards her usual seat in the corner of the kitchen when she nearly walked into Sesshoumaru. He looked down at her expressionlessly for a moment before frowning.

"I don't have time to deal with you today," he said coldly as he walked past her. "You're in the way. Go home."

The room went completely silent as everyone overheard the cold words seemed to echo around the room. The few members of staff who remained looked shocked by the words and glanced at Rin, wondering what they were supposed to do in such an awkward moment. A look of surprise passed over Rin's face before she masked it with a blank look. Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses as she looked at Sesshoumaru's back as he walked away. Sighing to herself, she walked over the table and put the usual pile of magazines and books she brought onto it before taking a step back and pushing up her glasses.

"As you wish," she said quietly.

That comment had been unexpected and even Sesshoumaru turned to look at her. The other chefs and assistants hastily finished what they were doing, all the while wondering if they were going to witness a lovers' spat. About to question her words, Sesshoumaru heard only the tapping of her heels over the tiled floor as she left the restaurant and the door close behind her. He knew that what he had said would upset any woman, but he had expected her to shout at him or insult him or something. Instead, she seemed to accept his words and the tone of her voice suggested that she was disappointed in him but there had been something else about the way she had spoken that almost made it seem as though she had been expecting those words. As he wondered what he should do, Sesshoumaru felt uneasy and wished that she had shouted instead. The way she had spoken caused his heart to wrench terribly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

For the next few days, Sesshoumaru didn't see Rin once and when he asked about her when he visited the café, Rika had told him that Rin hadn't been to work for several days. A panicked Kagome had called him asking if he had heard from Rin and after that conversation, Sesshoumaru knew that something was not right. He had been careless with his words when he had spoken to her at the restaurant and her sudden disappearance was definitely his fault. Sighing, he decided to wait until the next day before acting in case she came to work and he could speak to her there.

When he arrived at the campus the next day, he made a beeline for the café and was disappointed when Rika said that she had not seen Rin. A student had overheard the conversation and helpfully informed them that Rin had come to work that day since he had just attended her class. Sighing with relief, Sesshoumaru was able to relax for the first time in several days. Deciding that he would speak to her after his classes were finished, he made his way over to the cookery classrooms to begin preparing for the lesson even though he was well over an hour early. He needed to get his thoughts in order before speaking to Rin. An apology was definitely the first thing he would say, but he wasn't entirely sure how he would explain to her why he had said what he did without explaining the whole situation and his worries which would no doubt make a bad situation worse.

Frowning, he tried to think of something else as he pushed open the door to his usual classroom before stopping abruptly. The room was occupied and by Rin. She didn't seem to have heard the door open and she was busy taking something out of the oven. It smelled like a sweet of some kind – a cake or biscuits perhaps. When he took a step into the room, the door swung shut behind him and Rin spun around with a surprised look on her face. As soon as she saw Sesshoumaru standing in the doorway, her face became blank and she turned her back on him as she picked up the tray she had taken out of the oven. She turned around and started towards the door.

"I'm sorry," she said in a calm but expressionless voice. "I'll get out of your way."

Rin was almost out the door when an arm prevented her from stepping through the door. Sighing audibly, she looked up at the tall man who prevented her progress and frowned slightly. She was about to speak when he took the tray from her hands put it aside before turning back to her. Now somewhat irritated by his behaviour, Rin opened her mouth to berate him, but no words were spoken when she suddenly found herself pinned between the door and Sesshoumaru. Surprise stopped any reaction she might have had and he took advantage of her lack of movement by dropping his head to her shoulder and nuzzling her neck gently.

"I was so worried," he murmured against her soft skin before slipping his arms around her waist. "I didn't mean what I said."

"You shouldn't have said it then," Rin replied, trying in vain to push him away. She stopped when she realised that he was too strong and that he didn't seem to want to let go of her. "Why were you worried?"

"I thought something happened to you."

There was silence between them as the words hung in the air. Rin froze and her eyes widened as she heard the words before once again beginning her struggle to free herself, this time with more vigour than before. Eventually Sesshoumaru let go of her and stepped back to look at her and Rin took that opportunity to put as much distance as possible between them. Sesshoumaru frowned as he watched her move to the other side of the room, her eyes wide and a look of fright on her face.

"Rin, what are you doing?" he asked, frowning in concern.

"You're not supposed to know!" she exclaimed in a voice that was higher than normal. "No one is supposed to know!"

"What are you talking about?" Sesshoumaru demanded, wracking his brain for a way to calm her before realisation dawned on him. "Oh, that's what you're talking about…"

"Yes, that!" Rin almost shouted back, her glasses sitting askew after she hid her face in her hands. "If you know… then how many other people know? I'll lose my job! They'll send me back there again!"

Sesshoumaru watched in stunned silence as she quickly became hysterical. He had not realised what he had said when he had seen her. His relief was so great that he temporarily forgot that she didn't know that he knew about her past and now he saw that she was not taking the news very well. For a moment, he didn't know what to do before his instincts took over and he somehow managed to close the distance between them. The hysterical woman paused in surprise and stared at him for a moment before backing away. He felt a stab of guilt when he saw tears forming in her eyes. If he had not said what he had that night, they would not be in this situation. He reached out and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Rin struggled feebly but eventually gave up and sagged against him.

"Calm down," Sesshoumaru said quietly, tightening his arms slightly when she tried to escape. "You're not going to lose your job and no one's taking you anywhere."

"You're not supposed to know!" she protested weakly, her voice muffled by Sesshoumaru's shirt.

"Perhaps I'm not, but I do know. Will you calm down so we can talk about this?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm sure you don't want to talk about it, but we need to clear this up, don't you think?" Sesshoumaru asked, tilting her chin to look into her eyes.

Sighing softly, Rin nodded but said nothing. Sesshoumaru released his hold on her slightly and looked down at her, frowning when he saw tears on her cheeks. Brushing away her tears with his thumb, he took her hand in his and led her through the corridors and to his car. They arrived at the restaurant a short while later and Rin was ushered through the kitchen to the small room that Sesshoumaru used as an office. After calling the university to explain that he would be unable to attend the classes that evening, he sat down in a chair opposite Rin and looked at her seriously. She bit her lip anxiously as she waited for him to speak but lowered her gaze when he found himself at a loss for words.

"It would have been better if you didn't know," Rin murmured, taking off her glasses to wipe her eyes. "This just complicates matters."

"It might do, but it'll only become a problem if we let it," Sesshoumaru replied.

"How long have you known?"

"Three days. I think it's best if I'm honest with you."

They sat in silence for a moment while Sesshoumaru tried to gather his thoughts and Rin looked at him with a confused expression. What did he have to be honest about? She was the one who had such an enormous secret that she hadn't told him. She should be the one being honest with him.

"When I found out I was confused," Sesshoumaru admitted, looking down at his hands. "I didn't know what to do and my first reaction was to push you away. I didn't want to have to be the one to look after you after you'd been through so much and I cannot even begin to understand how much pain you must've felt at the time. Such delicate situations are not my forte, you have probably already realised that I am not the most emotional of people."

"I had noticed," Rin replied with a tiny tearful smile.

"I don't know the story from your point of view, but I know that I have been terribly insensitive to you since finding out and I'm very sorry for my behaviour."

Rin stared at Sesshoumaru for a long while as she thought about his words. She could understand why he had done what he did but she didn't know where that left them now. Now that he knew about her past, she couldn't possibly be a suitable wife for him even if it was purely for the sake of convenience. She sighed to herself as she wondered how she was supposed to tell him that it would be better to find someone who was better suited to be his wife. It wouldn't really surprise her if he said the exact same thing to her considering everything that had happened.

"You don't have to apologise," Rin said quietly, looking down at her hands as she tried to find words to express what she was thinking. "It's understandable that you would not know how to react to that. I would be the same in your position."

"That's no excuse for me to act the way I did," Sesshoumaru replied seriously.

"I think that it would be better to cancel this wedding."

There was no immediate response to that statement as Sesshoumaru reeled from the shock of hearing it. He had thought that the marriage might not be a good idea, but to hear Rin say such a thing was shocking.

"Why?" Sesshoumaru asked stupidly, unable able to help himself as the words tumbled from his mouth.

Rin looked at him quizzically. "I'm not suitable to become your wife even if it's just for the sake of convenience. You said yourself that you did not want the task of looking after me. I do no expect anyone to look after me, but I suspect you would do so regardless since you know my past."

"How can you not be suitable? Everyone so far has agreed that you are by far the most suitable."

"That is because everyone doesn't know my past," Rin said sadly. "Their opinions would change if they knew."

"They would not change," Sesshoumaru said with a soft sigh, knowing he was probably about to upset her again.

"You can't know that."

"I do know that. My father decided that you would be the most suitable woman for me to marry and he knew about your past."

"He knew?" Rin asked, her expression surprised but she didn't seem to fly into a panic again as she had done before. "How could he still choose me?"

"I don't know his reasons, but I know he doesn't make any decisions without thinking very carefully about the situation. Will you not trust his judgement?"

"You were uncertain about this idea from the beginning, why are you so keen to marry me now?"

"I have realised that my father is right," Sesshoumaru admitted, leaning back in his chair and looking out into the kitchen. "I need to think about my future. I cannot just sit by and then find myself in a predicament when I am older and wish to retire but have no heir to inherit my business. A marriage of convenience is probably the best option for me."

"Why?"

"I do not wish to marry a woman who is after my family's wealth."

"How do you know I'm not like that?"

"If you were, you would have tried to something already since you've known Inuyasha for so long. I believe that you are not like that and that is why I believe that you would be the perfect wife."

"Hm. Perfect wife is putting a little too much pressure on me," Rin said with a vague smile. "I have no idea how to go about being the perfect wife."

"As long as you don't change from the way you are now, you'll have no problems."

The pair looked at each other for a moment before Rin looked away. It was flattering to hear that he thought such things about her, but it saddened her slightly to know that the only reason he was going to marry her was to make his own life easier. Sighing to herself, she supposed that she should at least give the marriage a chance. They had already discussed what would happen and it gave both of them the chance to back out if they didn't like the way things were.

"If the situation was different, that would have been a rather flattering confession of love," Rin said with a teasing tone in her voice that shocked Sesshoumaru slightly.

"I suppose it might have been," he agreed, running his fingers through his hair. "What is your decision?"

"We have already discussed what we would do when we were married, if we still go by that plan then I have no problems with marrying you."

* * *

After everything had been cleared up between them, Rin had felt slightly relieved. She wasn't entirely sure why she was relieved that she had sorted things out with Sesshoumaru, but decided not to give it too much thought. Her days returned to normal. Spending most evenings in the restaurant talking or planning the wedding while her days were spent at the campus. Sesshoumaru still taught evening classes at the university although he had decided to cut down the number of classes he did so he could focus more on his restaurant. Life was peaceful until the day Sesshoumaru walked into the campus café while Rin was visiting during one of her rare free periods throughout the day. Rika had smiled and gotten him a cup of coffee while Rin just stared at him in confusion. He had no business there this early in the day, but he said nothing as he dropped down into the seat opposite her.

"Is something wrong?" Rin asked in confusion.

"No, nothing's wrong," Sesshoumaru replied, taking a sip of his coffee before sliding an envelope across to her. "I think you should look at those though."

Nodding dumbly, Rin opened the envelope and pulled out the wedding invitations. Her eyes widened as she stared at them. The reality of what she was doing hit her hard. Up until now, she had thought she had come to terms with the idea of marrying Sesshoumaru, but it was obvious now that she hadn't. The little invitations were very pretty and she had to smile as she looked at them. Even though she wasn't marrying for love, it was still exciting.

"There's this too," Sesshoumaru said, taking something out of his pocket and handing it to her.

"A travel brochure?" Rin asked, looking from the booklet to the man opposite her.

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "We need to decide where to go for the honeymoon."

"We're having one?"

"Why not?"

"I assumed you would be busy with your work," Rin murmured, flipping through the pages and glancing down at all the different destinations.

"My life does not revolve around my work funnily enough," Sesshoumaru replied with a smirk.

"Is that so? Inuyasha would have me believe otherwise."

"That's hardly surprising. We may get along better than when we were children but we are hardly the best of friends."

"What does he think of this marriage?" Rin queried, looking at Sesshoumaru over the tops of her glasses.

"I think his exact words were: 'It's about time you got married,'" Sesshoumaru said with a slight smirk.

"Hm, that certainly sounds like something he would say."

A short while later, Sesshoumaru was walking with Rin back to her office when she claimed that she needed to prepare for a lesson later that day. Out of politeness, she had invited him to accompany her back to the office since he had come all the way to the campus in the middle day purely to see her, but she had been surprised when he had accepted the invitation. As they walked, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He was glad that she had agreed to go ahead with the wedding despite the fact that he knew of her past, but he realised that he was beginning to notice things about her that he had been blind to before. He didn't know why he was paying more attention to her, but he couldn't seem to help himself. Walking slightly behind her gave him an ideal vantage point and he looked her over carefully. It was strange to think that he had never noticed the stray strands of her dark hair that curled slightly at the nape of her slender neck or how long her eyelashes were behind those glasses.

When they arrived at her office, Rin gestured to her chair as she headed towards her tall book case in the corner. Sesshoumaru sat down and marvelled at how comfortable it was. Looking around him, he noticed a long black coat hanging on the back of the door and a pair of gloves sitting neatly on the desk nearby while a scarf hung over the back of his chair just behind his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, he caught a whiff of her perfume from the scarf before looking across the room at its owner. Rin was facing the bookcase, a hand on her hip and the other pushing her glasses up. It was a gesture that baffled Sesshoumaru every time he saw it.

"Why do you wear glasses?" Sesshoumaru asked curiously.

Rin turned to stare at him in surprise, the question catching her off guard and her voice was tinged with confusion when she spoke. "To see?"

"Obviously," Sesshoumaru replied with a smirk. "Why not wear contacts instead?"

"I don't like the idea of putting those in," Rin said with a slight shudder as she turned back to her shelves of books.

"You'd rather hide behind glasses?"

"I don't really think it's hiding, but yes, I prefer my glasses."

They were silent as Sesshoumaru watched Rin reach for several books and even offered once to retreive a book for her that was out of her reach. She had blushed deeply when he had offered, but accepted his help nonetheless. A small pile of books sat on the table in front of them and Sesshoumaru stared at the titles, deciding that it was probably best if he didn't ask what they were about. While he had been an excellent student through his years at school, the classics were never been his strongest subjects and as a result, he had favoured the sciences. He had never really cared enough about Rin's career choice to inquire what she taught, but it was obvious to him now that her strongest subjects had been his weakest. Curiously, he watched her stand at her desk and he noted that she was so close to him that he could probably touch her by simply reaching towards her without making much of an effort. Her slim fingers picked up a large book and placed it down on the desk in front of her. One delicate finger traced a line down the small timetable she had taped to the top of her desk before opening the large book to a clean page. Sesshoumaru watched with fascination as she wrote out pages numbers and titles on the page in an elegant script that he was sure would put his to shame. It was only when she closed the book with a snap that he realised that he had been staring.

"My lesson starts in a quarter of an hour," Rin said quietly, leaning against the edge of her desk as she looked at him thoughtfully. "Are you teaching tonight?"

"Not tonight," Sesshoumaru replied, shaking his head as he spoke. "Are you coming to the restaurant tonight?"

"If you want me to."

"I'll wait for you then. You can come back to the restaurant with me."

Rin nodded. "You're welcome to wait here if you want to, otherwise I will walk back to the café with you before my lesson."

"No, I'll wait for you here."

The pair looked at each other for a moment and a tiny smile tugged Rin's lips briefly before it was gone. Pushing herself off her desk, she reached for her bag and pulled out a bottle of water which she placed on the desk beside her pile of books. Sesshoumaru was looking at the books with a frown, wondering if he should be the gentleman and offer to carry them for her, but his thoughts were cut off when there was a knock at the door. He glanced toward it and noticed that Rin was already pulling it open, a smile on her face when she recognised the three students standing on the other side. A silver eyebrow rose as his amber eyes landed on the man who seemed to be the leader of the small group. It was obvious to Sesshoumaru that this man was a mature student and a few years older than Rin, but definitely younger than himself. His eyes narrowed slightly as the dark haired man in the doorway smiled at Rin before following her into the office, leaving his friends in the hallway. When his gaze landed on Sesshoumaru, his eyes widened in obvious surprise before he sent a questioning look to Rin who either didn't notice it or completely ignored it. Sesshoumaru smirked to himself as he watched Rin hand over the pile of books to the baffled man before ushering him out the door saying that she would follow shortly.

"Your students?" Sesshoumaru asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her.

"Mm. The most dedicated of the class, but unfortunately, not the brightest," she said with a vague smile.

"It's certainly easy to see why he's dedicated."

"Oh? Would you care to share your theory?"

"He's obviously quite taken with you," Sesshoumaru said with a smirk.

Rin stared at him in surprise before shrugging as she picked up her water bottle and book. "How unfortunate for him."

"I'll be waiting here for you," Sesshoumaru said with a small, fleeting smile as Rin made her way towards the door, pausing only to hear his words.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII**

The days passed quickly after Sesshoumaru's visit to Rin during her working hours and it once again became routine for them to spend the evenings together. Weeks became months and eventually, the day came when Rin was sitting in Kagome's dressing room while Izayoi helped her soon to be daughter-in-law add the finishing touches to her make up and hair. Rin sat quietly on the bed, watching the display with a slight smile. Everything had returned to normal after she had discovered that Sesshoumaru knew of her past. In truth, her life had not changed a great deal except that it was slightly easier to act herself around Sesshoumaru than it had been before. Even so, she was still slightly withdrawn and her smiles didn't quite reach her eyes, although she was able to admit that the times when she smiled in Sesshoumaru's company, her smiles were becoming more and more genuine. Despite his stoic behaviour, he was actually quite amusing and Rin quickly noticed his sarcastic sense of humour. He rarely cracked a smile and seemed to prefer smirks, but she was pleased that she had at least seen what he looked like when he smiled.

"This will be a good opportunity for you and Sesshoumaru." Izayoi said quietly as she sat down beside Rin. "After all, most of the family will be present today and there will most likely be a quite a bit of publicity about this event. It's not every day a Taisho son gets married."

"Izayoi's right," Kagome chimed in as she slipped on her shoes and smoothed down her dress. "We know the marriage is for convenience, but the rest of the world doesn't. It'll be good practice for when you are married."

"I suppose you're right," Rin said with a sigh, pushing her glasses up as she got to her feet. "I'm assuming Sesshoumaru is being told the exact same thing?"

"Probably, dear," Izayoi confirmed with a smile. "Are you sure you want to wear your glasses today?"

Rin stared at the older woman in confusion. "I always wear my glasses, why should today be any different?"

"You might find yourself in one of the pictures a magazine or newspaper publishes soon, do you mind the glasses?"

"I don't really care that much about it, to be honest," Rin said with a shrug as she moved across the room to open the door. "Everyone is probably waiting, we should go."

Izayoi smiling at Rin as she passed and paused to smooth Kagome's dress once more before disappearing into the church hall with Inutaisho. Rin looked at her friend and smiled at her, feeling almost tearful as she took in the sight of Kagome in her white dress about to be married to her childhood sweetheart.

"That was a genuine smile," Kagome exclaimed in surprise. "That's made my day, Rin!"

"Don't be silly," Rin murmured, stepping out of her friend's reach before she was engulfed in a bone crushing hug. "Marrying Inuyasha is going to make your day."

"Yes, but you haven't smiled like that in so long!"

"I thought today called for a proper smile. Today is a very happy day after all."

No more words were exchanged between them as Rin waved at her friend and followed Izayoi's footsteps into the church hall. There was a spring in her step as she made her way towards her seat. She knew that a proper smile would make Kagome forget any nervousness she had been feeling, but she now realised that her true smile meant more to her friends than she had previously realised. Another tiny smile pulled Rin's lips as she filed away that little piece of information for use another time. Sesshoumaru looked up as she appeared and sat down between him and Izayoi. He knew that she was pleased about something, but she said nothing about what it was and Izayoi simply smiled, reaching over to take Rin's hand in her own.

The ceremony was short and sweet, coming to an end fairly quickly and Rin found herself being pulled gently to her feet at the end of it by Sesshoumaru. They followed the newly married couple and the elder Taishos down the aisle towards the door and as they did so, Rin felt Sesshoumaru take her hand in his. A brief glance at him told him that he had received the same talk that she had before the wedding. The gesture was small and would probably not be seen by many people, but it was definitely a start and they could work from there as the celebration progressed.

A short while later, Rin was sitting between Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho at the table at the reception venue, waiting to start the meal and listen to the customary speeches. Although it was tradition for the best man to make a speech, Sesshoumaru had declined and left that task to Kouga who had readily agreed. Rin fought the urge to groan when she saw Kouga get to his feet but masked her discomfort by pushing her glasses up to rub her eyes. Sesshoumaru seemed to notice the gesture and took her free hand in his again although this time, Rin suspected that the gesture was done purely because he wanted to and not because he needed to.

"I don't think it'll be as bad as you think," Sesshoumaru murmured, leaning towards Rin so that the words were only heard by her.

"I hope not," Rin replied with a vague smile. "It could end badly otherwise."

Just as Sesshoumaru had predicted, the speech had gone without problem and the meal had done the same. Everyone had cheered appreciatively when the new couple had taken to the dance floor, but Rin had sunk down in her seat, already beginning to feel weary. Now that everyone's attention was focused elsewhere, Sesshoumaru turned his full attention to Rin when he heard her sigh. She looked weary and he wondered if she would be able to see the festivities through. He was about to question her when a shrill voice that sent shivers down his spine called his name excitedly. Rin looked up curiously and saw a dark haired woman coming towards the table, her long legs and cleavage exposed in a way that could almost be described as indecent and her hips swaying in a manner that left Rin in little doubt that this woman was after more than an innocent conversation.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" the woman exclaimed, pouting outrageously as she stopped in front of the table. "It's been so long since I've seen you!"

While Sesshoumaru was reluctantly drawn into conversation with the absurd woman, Rin struggled not to giggle at the woman's ridiculous behaviour. She had heard that some women were incredibly flirtatious, but surely this woman was not one of them? This woman was unbelievable. The intent behind her actions was so obvious that even a blind man would have seen it if he hadn't already heard it in the overly seductive tones and double entendres that the woman seemed to drop into the conversation at every opportunity. Eventually, Rin was sure that her face was bright red with the effort it took to stop herself from laughing and decided that it was time to excuse herself. Sesshoumaru looked at her curiously when he heard her obviously strained voice as she excused herself and rose to his feet beside her, intending to ask if she was alright.

"Yes, yes," the other woman said dismissively. "I'm sure there are other men for you to play with. It's obvious that Sesshoumaru is out of your league. Set your sights a bit lower."

Rin paused in surprise, turning to look incredulously at the woman on the other side of the table. She had been largely ignored throughout the conversation and yet the woman's first words to her were insulting. Rin's eyes narrowed slightly but she chose to say nothing, pushing her glasses up as she prepared to turn around and leave the pair. Sesshoumaru had frowned at the words and held out an arm when Rin had turned to leave. She had looked up at him when an arm had wrapped around her middle and pulled her into his side snugly.

"Oh, I see!" the other woman snickered. "So this is your new play thing, Sesshoumaru? I must say that your standards have lowered drastically!"

"Those remarks are uncalled for, Kagura," Sesshoumaru said in a cold voice. "I believe you owe Rin an apology."

"Why should I apologise to her?" Kagura questioned petulantly. "She's just another hussy eager for your attention. Now doubt she'll disappear after a night in your bed like all the others did."

"Rin is my fiancée," Sesshoumaru stated, narrowing his eyes at Kagura. "If you're not going to apologise, please leave us."

After a brilliant impersonation of a fish, Kagura frowned ferociously and stormed off across the room to the door. Sighing to himself, Sesshoumaru sat down and pulled Rin down into the seat beside his again. If he had known that Kagura would be there, he would have left sooner, but now there was nothing to be done about the situation. He glanced at Rin and found her once again watching the dancing couples, but she said nothing about the incident that had just happened. She gave no indication that she was offended by Kagura's words or show any interest in the fact that Kagura had just informed her that more than a couple women had shared his bed in the past.

"Don't think about it so much," Rin said quietly, her eyes never leaving the dancing couples. "It doesn't matter."

"What doesn't?" Sesshoumaru asked, frowning slightly.

"What she said."

Before Sesshoumaru could say another word, Rin had left her seat and was making her way across the room towards the refreshments table. He was about to go after her to ask what she had meant with her words, but he saw Kouga approach her and moments later, the pair were on the dance floor, lost in the sea of people. Frowning to himself, Sesshoumaru pondered her words. Did she mean that she didn't take offence to Kagura's words or did she mean that she didn't care about his past? It was something he was definitely going to have to ask her. A glance at the clock told him that the evening was drawing to a close and a glance at the dance floor made him come to a decision. They weren't marrying for love like Inuyasha and Kagome, but he couldn't help the surge of jealousy that he felt when he saw Rin in Kouga's arms on the dance floor.

Rin was just walking off the dance floor after telling Kouga to find Ayame and was about to return to her seat when she felt someone take her hand. She paused for a moment, noting that the hand was bigger than hers and definitely masculine before she turned around to face its owner. Her eyes widened slightly when she found herself face to face with Sesshoumaru. He frowned slightly and she was just wondering what he was thinking when she found herself was pulled towards him and back onto the dance floor. Shock ran through her when she felt an arm slip around her waist and her front collide with his broad chest, but she quickly calmed herself when she realised that it was his way of asking for a dance. Sighing to herself, she relaxed her tense body and was rewarded with one of Sesshoumaru's brief and rare smiles as he took her hand in his.

"They make a good couple, don't they?" Izayoi said quietly to her husband as they watched the pair dance.

"They do. Maybe they'll realise that before they get married."

* * *

A week after the wedding, Rin appeared at Sesshoumaru's office after it had closed. For the first time in a long time, she had stayed at work and got a lot of planning done, but it was expected of her since she was accompanying the students on their first field trip of the new term. Only a couple of other chefs remained in the kitchen, but they greeted her with smiles and waves as she stepped into the kitchen. Looking around, she saw that Sesshoumaru was nowhere in sight and briefly wondered if he had already gone home. Her worry must've shown on her face because a nearby chef looked up from the cutlery he was washing and nodded towards the little office at the back of the kitchen.

"If you're looking for the Boss, he's in the office," the man said with a smile before turning back to the washing. "There was a bit of an accident while he was helping one of the newer chefs and he ended up covered in whatever they were attempting to cook."

The very thought of Sesshoumaru covered in food was quite amusing but she decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea to show her amusement at the idea. Nodding her thanks to the chef, she headed towards the office and knocked on the door. Hearing a muffled voice calling for her to enter, Rin pushed the door open and saw Sesshoumaru standing beside the small desk with his back to the door. He didn't look up when she came in, but seemed to sigh in irritation.

"I've already told you to stop apologising," he said curtly.

"I think you've mistaken me for someone else," Rin said quietly, a small smile tugging her lips.

Sesshoumaru whirled round at the sound of her voice and stared at Rin as she leaned against the doorframe, books clutched against her chest and a small smile on her face. Frowning slightly, he remembered that she had not been around throughout the service and must've only just arrived. It had worried him when she hadn't come, but he supposed he should be glad that she was here now. Rin's smile disappeared when she saw a first aid kit on the desk and a bandage roll lying on the table. Sesshoumaru still wore the shirt that had been covered in food by the new chef, but she noted with a blush that it hung open down the front, exposing a broad muscular chest to her gaze. Regaining her composure, she pushed herself off the doorframe and walked into the room, closing the door behind her as she approached the desk.

"I'm sorry I was late," she said quietly, inspecting the items on the desk before giving him a scrutinising look.

"Did you have some work to do?" Sesshoumaru asked, ignoring the look she gave him that clearly told him that she knew he had hurt himself and that she wanted to know where.

"I had a meeting and some work to do. That was actually what I came here to talk about."

"Oh?"

"Indeed," Rin's sharp eyes caught sight of a patch of very red skin on the back of his hand and winced slightly.

Sighing to herself, Rin pulled Sesshoumaru over to a chair that she remembered occupying the last time she had been in this office before turning back to the first aid kit to see what she had to work with. Seeing that only bandages might be of some use, she picked them up and sat down beside Sesshoumaru to rummage through her bag.

"You're lucky it's not serious," she murmured as she pulled a small tube out of her bag.

"What did you want to talk about?" Sesshoumaru asked, eager to know what had brought her here so late.

"The students are going on a field trip next week," Rin said as she rubbed some of the clear lotion from the tube gently onto the back of Sesshoumaru's hand. "It's a week long field trip actually."

"And you're going with them?" Sesshoumaru guessed, watching as Rin expertly bandaged his hand with gentle fingers.

"I'm one of the supervising teachers."

"I see. I have a surprise for you since they apparently have not told you."

"Told me what?" Rin asked, frowning as she looked up from the bandage.

"Your supervisors have asked me to accompany the group," Sesshoumaru stated with a slight smirk.

"But why? That means you'll have to take time away from here."

"That is true, but everyone here can manage without me for a week."

"Why are you coming with us though?" Rin murmured, wondering how many other things she didn't know about this trip.

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "Apparently they consider me a teacher there now as well and have asked me to accompany the students and prepare the food for them."

"They can do that themselves!" Rin exclaimed in confusion.

"Probably, but that's what I was asked to do."

Rin smiled slightly. "Well at least I know I won't get food poisoning from any bad cooking then."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII**

The day of the class would depart for the trip dawned bright but bitterly cold and very windy. Rin shivered slightly and pulled her coat closer around her as she stood beside the bus they would be taking to their destination as she checked off the students' names as they climbed aboard the vehicle. There were so few students in her class that one bus had more than enough space for the entire class and also have quite a lot of extra space. Rin smiled as the last of the students staggered past her and wondered why most of her students looked sleep deprived. She frowned slightly as she sank down into her seat beside Sesshoumaru, wondering if she was overworking them without realising it, but soon pushed that thought aside as she ran over the workload she had given them over the past term in her mind.

"Something on your mind?" Sesshoumaru asked, raising an eyebrow at her frown as he looked at her from his seat beside her.

"I was just wondering why my students all look as though they've had no sleep," Rin said, shrugging slightly as she settled into her seat.

"They probably haven't had much. No doubt they were excited about this trip."

There was no reply to his words as the bus made its way out of the university grounds. If he turned just slightly in his seat, Sesshoumaru could see all the students that sat behind him and Rin. His attention was caught by a familiar male figure sitting not to far away from them and amber eyes narrowed as he recognised the man. The same man he had met when he was in Rin's office. Sighing to himself, he sat back in his seat and glared out the window at the scenery that flew past. Sesshoumaru was not one to get jealous. Jealousy was an emotion that had no place in his life, an emotion he saw very little point in. From what he understood through watching his brother and his wife, jealousy only caused trouble and he wanted to avoid trouble at all costs. Besides, Sesshoumaru had no reason to be jealous of any relationship that man had with Rin. Rin had given him the distinct impression that she wasn't interested in the man as anything other than a student, but the man's lack of understanding set him on edge somewhat.

The soft sound of Rin's voice drew him from his musings and caused him to look in her direction. Once again, his eyes narrowed slightly as they landed on the dark haired man who had occupied his thoughts only moments ago. The man had now moved and was sitting across the aisle from Rin and was currently making sure that he was the centre of her attention. Sighing inwardly, Sesshoumaru leaned back in his seat and resisted the urge to roll his eyes when he saw the other man smirk at him briefly before replying to something Rin had said. It was petty, very petty, but Sesshoumaru allowed himself to smirk openly when he realised that the only conversation the man could think to start up was about the content of his course.

"I didn't know that there was more than one teacher accompanying us on this trip," the man commented casually, looking directly at Sesshoumaru as he spoke.

"I only found out about it recently as well," Rin admitted, turning in her seat to smile slightly at Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru's going to be preparing our meals. Apparently the campus council doesn't trust my class's cooking skills."

"Not a teacher but a cook then?" the dark haired man queried with a barely disguised grin.

"A chef actually," Rin corrected before Sesshoumaru could speak. "It's quite an honour for a small class such as us to have a world renowned chef cooking our meals."

"World renowned is exaggerating a bit, I think," Sesshoumaru murmured, slightly surprised that it was Rin who had come to his defence.

"Do you think so?" Rin asked, pushing her glasses up as she turned to look at him, completely forgetting the other man.

Over Rin's shoulder, Sesshoumaru noticed that that now forgotten man was glaring at him venomously before getting to his feet and returning to his seat near the back of the bus. It seemed that the man was declaring war on him and if he accepted the silent declaration, it seemed that they would be fighting for Rin's affections. In a way, it would be interesting to see who prevailed, but at the same time, it could prove to be troublesome if Rin discovered the rivalry the men had suddenly established. Either way, Sesshoumaru decided that he would risk the rivalry being discovered if only to satisfy his curiosity over whom she would shower with her attention.

* * *

After a long journey, the bus came to a halt and Rin stepped out of the door and looked around curiously. She had half expected to be staying in tents for the week, but was pleasantly surprised to see a stone pathway leading into the nearby woods with a sign requesting that visitors to the area visit the reception. The small group was soon standing in a small clearing surrounded by a few cabins that they would be staying in. Rin assigned the cabins to various students, ensuring that they were with their friends to avoid any unpleasantness that might arise. She quickly realised that she would have to share a cabin with Sesshoumaru, but considering the fact that they were engaged, she didn't think it much of a problem. There would no doubt be separate bedrooms inside the cabin so it would not cause rumours amongst the students either.

When Rin had disappeared into a nearby cabin to unpack her bag and look around, Sesshoumaru had remained in place, looking around the clearing and realising with some dismay that the cabin the dark haired man had been assigned to was next to the one he would be sharing with Rin. Even though he wasn't planning anything that involved privacy, he doubted that they would get any even if they wanted it. Sighing to himself, he was about to climb the few steps to his cabin when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Turning around, an eyebrow rose in surprise when he saw the dark haired man standing in front of him, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"Keep away from Rin," the man stated bluntly.

Sesshoumaru snorted in amusement at the man's audacity. "What makes you think you have any right to say such things? I don't believe she is your possession."

"I will make you regret it if you don't keep away from her."

"Do your worst."

Unmoved by the man's blatant threat, Sesshoumaru turned and walked into the cabin, closing the door behind him firmly. Rin looked up when she heard him come into the small living room that she had been sitting in. Smiling slightly, she sat down on the sofa and slipped her shoes off with a soft sigh. Sesshoumaru was slightly disappointed that her smile was not the one he had become accustomed to seeing, but supposed that she was weary from the long journey. Shrugging away his disappointment, he picked up his bag and was about to walk into the bedroom he would be using when Rin spoke.

"I thought you didn't know any of the students in my class?" she asked curiously.

"I don't. Why do you ask?" Sesshoumaru queried, pausing to look at her.

"I saw you talking to Kohaku just now. I wasn't aware you knew each other."

"Kohaku? The dark haired man?"

"Yes, that's him."

"I don't know him. He was simply expressing his concern over how tired you looked."

Rin clicked her tongue and said nothing as she leaned back against the sofa, closing her eyes as she relaxed. She heard Sesshoumaru disappear into his room and let loose the sigh she had been holding in since she saw the two men talking outside. While Sesshoumaru's explanation of what the two men had said was perfectly believable, Rin was suspicious. The frown on Kohaku's face when he had spoken to the taller man was not one that was generally associated with expressing concern. In fact, Rin was almost certain that the intent behind that frown had been quite hostile, but she couldn't prove that. It was obvious that the two men did not like each other, she didn't know why that was, but she knew that it was so. She would simply have to keep an on both of them to make sure they didn't do anything silly.

The next day was overcast but the poor weather that threatened rain did little to dampen the spirits of Rin's excited students. Today she would keep a close eye on the two men. After warning the students not to wander too far, Rin smiled as she wondered what she would do with her day. She had not planned to have a free day on the trip, but it was a welcome change from her busy schedule. While the students drifted off in various directions, Rin slowly made her way towards the reception where she hoped she could find information about the area that was a bit more up to date than what she had been looking at previously. When she returned to the clearing where the cabins were located, she looked up when she heard Kohaku calling her name enthusiastically.

"Do you want to come explore with me today?" he asked with a grin, holding out a pamphlet that depicted a quaint town.

"Not today," Rin declined politely. "I think I'm just going to relax today."

"Alright. Well, if you change your mind, call me!"

A small piece of paper was thrust into her hand before Kohaku took off out of the clearing. Slightly stunned by his rapid exit, Rin was left standing in the middle of the clearing, staring after him with a bewildered expression. Glancing down at the paper, she sighed softly. She didn't want his number, but refrained from crushing it into a ball until she got into the cabin. Sesshoumaru looked up from a pile of books that surrounded him on the table in the small kitchen when she came in.

"Something wrong?" he asked, looking at her quizzically as he placed his pen down.

"No, everything's fine," Rin replied, with a smile on her face as she walked past him into the living room. "What are you doing? It's rare to see you buried in books."

"I'm trying to decide on a new menu for the restaurant," Sesshoumaru said softly, looking back down at the books in front of him. "It's time for a change, but there's too much to choose from."

Rin got to her feet and wandered over to where he sat. Sitting down opposite him, she pulled one of the books towards her and flipped through the pages to the index at the beginning. She pushed her glasses up as she read the list of dishes and put the book down eventually to look at him thoughtfully.

"Do you have a specific theme in mind?"

"Not particularly," Sesshoumaru admitted. "I've been struggling to come up with one."

"Why not choose meals that appeal to families rather than couples or individuals?" Rin suggested as she looked down at the book again. "If you did that and it was a success you'd have more people coming to the restaurant since people would bring their families and you'd earn more money."

"That's true. I think we'll go with that idea and see how it works."

Sitting back in her chair, Rin watched as Sesshoumaru flipped through the small pile of books and smiled to herself. Her idea had just been something she pulled off the top of her head and hadn't really been seriously suggesting that he use it, but if he thought it would work, she was glad that she had managed to help in some way. Just as she was about to speak, the door burst open and Kohaku stood in the doorway, eyes wild and panting for breath. Sesshoumaru glanced up and frowned slightly as he saw the dishevelled man gasping for breath while Rin seemed to be stunned by the man's sudden appearance. She glanced at Sesshoumaru from the corner of her eye, wonder how he would react to a man he obviously didn't like bursting into their cabin. A small frown was all that she saw before his face was wiped clean of expression and he turned his attention back to the books in front of him. Sighing to herself, she looked at Kohaku who seemed to have regained the ability to breathe.

"Is something wrong?" Rin asked, turning in her seat to look at the dark haired man with a slight frown.

"It's Mika!" Kohaku said breathlessly.

Sesshoumaru looked at Rin curiously, wondering whom the man was talking about. He noticed Rin sitting stiffly in her chair, evidently this Mika was a student of hers, and judging by Kohaku's expression, the woman must be one of his friends.

"What's wrong with Mika?" Rin asked calmly, determined not to let the panic she felt within rise to the surface.

"She was out walking with us and fell down a hill," Kohaku explained hurriedly. "We brought her back, but she's injured."

Shaking her head slightly, Rin got to her feet and left the two men briefly as she went into her bedroom. While she was gone, Kohaku looked down at Sesshoumaru who sat passively at the table and glared ferociously. Rolling his eyes skyward, Sesshoumaru's retort was cut off when Rin came back into the room with a bag in her hand. She sighed softly as she slipped her shoes on and gestured for Kohaku to follow as she walked over to the door. Her hand was on the doorknob when she paused and looked over her shoulder at Sesshoumaru who had returned to his work.

"Perhaps you'd better come with me," Rin murmured, causing Sesshoumaru to look up in surprise and Kohaku's face to fall with dismay. "If it's something serious, I don't think my limited knowledge of first aid will be enough."

"As you wish," Sesshoumaru said quietly, getting to his feet and following the pair out the door.

Kohaku led the way across the clearing to the cabin where Mika was and Rin was somewhat amused by his obvious anger. She wasn't entirely sure what he was angry about, but she was willing to bet it had something to do with the tall silver haired man who walked sedately beside her. It seemed strange that someone as docile as Kohaku usually was would have such an issue with Sesshoumaru, but she supposed she would understand if she heard his reasons. Sesshoumaru however didn't seem to like Kohaku either and that baffled her. She wouldn't have thought that he as the type to take an almost instant dislike to anyone, but once again, she didn't know his reasons. The sound of a door opening caught her attention and she realised that she had followed Kohaku to Mika's cabin.

Inside, Mika was sitting on the sofa with a pale face and wide eyes. She seemed to calm down slightly when she saw Rin and Sesshoumaru was almost certain he could see tears in the girl's eyes. Sighing to himself, he leaned against the door frame and watched as Rin sat beside the other woman and spoke to her quietly. Kohaku sat on Mika's other side and glanced up to throw a glare at Sesshoumaru before returning to his role as the attentive friend. It turned out that there was no need for Sesshoumaru to accompany Rin since there were no major injuries. Rin deduced that the girl's inability to walk was caused by a minor sprain and the problem was solved easily.

"It's a relief that there was nothing seriously wrong," Rin said with a soft sigh as she and Sesshoumaru walked back to the cabin they shared.

"Indeed. Perhaps she should have been more careful."

"Perhaps, but Mika is a bit clumsy so I don't really think any extra care would have made much difference."

"What will you do tomorrow?" Sesshoumaru asked, glancing down at her.

"I've got some brochures that I've going to look through, there might be something interesting around to look at."

"I see."

While Rin seemed content that nothing had been seriously wrong, Sesshoumaru had to admit that something didn't sit well with him about the whole situation. It was obvious that his presence wasn't wanted when Kohaku had come by the cabin to tell Rin about his friend, but what Sesshoumaru wondered was why he wanted Rin to come alone. There would be no chance for them to be alone since Mika was also present, but then he supposed that Kohaku would no doubt be able to create several situations that required him to be alone with Rin and Sesshoumaru was quite sure that Mika was aware of her friend's infatuation with their teacher. Frowning slightly, he decided that he was going to have to keep a close eye on that man.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX**

The next day was warm and Rin smiled to herself as she looked out the window in her bedroom. After a quick shower, she stepped out into the living and looked around; surprised that Sesshoumaru was not already awake. Shaking her head in wonderment, she made her way over to the kitchen and began making breakfast. Sesshoumaru appeared a short while later and looked at her in surprise when he saw her bustling about the little kitchenette. Rin gave him a brief smile before setting down a plate full of food on the table in front of him and sitting opposite him to begin her own meal.

They ate in companionable silence for a while, but just before the end of the meal there was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Kohaku standing on the doorstep with an enormous grin on his face. The grin fell slightly as he took note of the companionable aura that the pair at the table seemed to radiate. Rin looked at him with a quizzical expression on her face while Sesshoumaru simply raised an eyebrow at his sudden appearance before taking a sip of his coffee and effectively ignoring the other man's presence as he returned to his meal. A tiny smile curved Rin's lips as she watched both men's behaviour but suppressed it as she decided to question her student instead.

"You're looking cheerful this morning," Rin noted with a very vague and very false smile as she sipped her drink and watched Kohaku walk into the kitchen and sit beside her.

"Everyone's going swimming at the lake today," Kohaku explained. "Are you going to come?"

"I suppose we should go," she said thoughtfully, looking over at Sesshoumaru who merely shrugged nonchalantly. "I won't swim, but I suppose I should go."

"You won't swim?" Kohaku looked crestfallen.

"I don't like bathing suits," Rin explained with another smile.

Kohaku continued to try to convince Rin to swim and Sesshoumaru simply looked on with amusement. It was obvious that she was not going to change her mind, but evidently the man just didn't seem to understand that. However, Sesshoumaru could definitely understand why Kohaku wanted Rin to swim so desperately. She definitely had a nice figure and that figure in a bathing suit would be a sight to see, but he doubted that she would change her mind.

"What time will you all be going?" Rin asked, standing up to clear away the used plates and mugs.

"We'll be leaving in about an hour."

"Alright, I'll come with you but I'll only stay for a short while."

Grinning happily, Kohaku sprang to his feet and left the pair alone. Rin shook her head and disappeared into her bedroom to fetch her shoes. She returned moments later and found Sesshoumaru sitting exactly where she had left him. He didn't look up when she came back into the room and she sighed to herself as she sat down in the seat she had occupied moments before.

"Are you going to come to the lake?" Rin asked, looking at him curiously.

"No, I've got some more work to do for the restaurant and I want to finish the menu," Sesshoumaru said quietly, meeting her gaze for the first time since Kohaku's departure. "You will be careful, won't you?"

"Be careful?" Rin queried with a baffled expression.

"Not to hurt yourself," he said with a slight frown when he realised that she didn't seem to understand that there was something about Kohaku that was not to be trusted.

"I'll be careful," she promised, smiling slightly as she gave him a brief wave and left the cabin.

* * *

As it turned out, Rin was eventually persuaded to swim with her students although she was still not pleased by the idea. She had had to relinquish her glasses, knowing that she could not swim with them, but felt very uncomfortable with her blurry vision. Eventually, students began to tire of swimming and headed back towards the cabins. Rin too emerged from the water and made her way over to where she remembered leaving her clothes and glasses. She had deliberately left them somewhere obvious so that she could find them again with her poor vision. Frowning, she stretched out a wondering hand as she searched the surface of the rock she had left her clothes on and discovered that her glasses were not there. Kneeling down, she felt around the base of the rock, thinking they might have fallen off but found nothing. Panic raced through her as she stood up and leaned against the rock. As she tried to calm herself, she pulled on her clothes as best she could and decided not to attempt the buttons on her shirt. Her shirt hung open to reveal her bikini top and she managed pull her shorts on without any difficulty.

"Is something wrong?" Kohaku asked, coming over to stand beside her when she took too long to get ready.

"Have you seen my glasses?" Rin asked with a frown, turning to look at the blurry man beside her.

"No, did you leave them here?"

"Yes, they're gone now."

"I see," Kohaku murmured before a grin curved his lips. "Shall I help you back to the cabins?"

"If you don't mind."

After spending a peaceful day in the company of his books, Sesshoumaru gazed out the window in the small living room and noticed that students were beginning to return from their swimming. Wondering when Rin would return, he got to his feet and stepped outside into the warm sunshine. Amber eyes widened when they landed on two figures just entering the clearing. One of them was definitely Rin and the other was no doubt Kohaku. Sesshoumaru felt his blood boil when he realised that the younger man had an arm wrapped around her waist and seemed to be leading the way across the clearing towards the cabin he stood in front of. Frowning, he leaned forward against the railings on the edge of the little veranda and watched them come closer. Kohaku glared at him when they arrived at the foot of the few steps that led up to the cabin and tightened his arm around her waist as though he was reluctant to let her go.

"Thank you," Rin said with a vague smile. "I should be alright from here."

"Are you sure you can get up the steps?"

"Yes, yes. I'll be fine."

Knowing he had no choice but to leave, Kohaku reluctantly left and Rin sighed in relief as she tried to make her way up the steps. Sesshoumaru watched her curiously, wondering if she had noticed his presence yet. Worry coursed through him as he thought of the way the younger man had spoke to her as though something was wrong. His eyes flew open when she stumbled on the steps but caught herself before falling. Something was definitely wrong. Looking at her closely, Sesshoumaru realised that she didn't have her glasses on and sighed in relief. So that was the problem.

"Rin?" he called her name, deciding to let her know of his presence.

"Sesshoumaru? Is that you?" she asked, turned her head to look in his direction.

"Yes, are you alright?"

"I just lost my glasses," she said with a sheepish smile.

"Would you like some help?"

"Please."

Rin was amazed that she felt better accepting Sesshoumaru's help than Kohaku's. Should it really make a difference whose help she accepted? Evidently it did make a difference. She sighed in relief when she felt Sesshoumaru push her down gently onto the sofa in the living room. While Rin was trying to figure out what had happened to her glasses, Sesshoumaru knelt in front of her and took a closer look at her and felt his jaw drop. He realised that her shirt hung open and gave him a very good view of what lay beneath. Truly it was a sight to behold and he couldn't pull his gaze away no matter how hard he tried. Eventually, he regained his composure and cleared his throat.

"Do you have a spare pair?" he asked, desperately looking for something to occupy his attention to keep it from going back to her chest.

"No," Rin said sadly. "I'm usually very careful with my glasses so I don't carry an extra pair."

"I wonder if there's anywhere nearby where we can get a replacement pair for you," Sesshoumaru mused, sitting back on his heels.

"I doubt it. I think it might be better just to wait until I get home."

"But you can't see now, can you?"

"No, but my glasses are very expensive. I can just stay indoors for the remainder of the trip. There's only one day until we return to the city anyway. I'm sure I can manage that long."

Although Rin had tried to smile cheerfully when she spoke, Sesshoumaru was unconvinced. Sighing to himself, he could only wonder what the next couple of days would be had in store for them.

* * *

After much stumbling around, Rin managed to dress herself the next morning but was almost convinced that she had done the buttons on her shirt up the wrong. Since she couldn't see the line of little buttons clearly enough to tell, she simply had to hope that her fears were unfounded. Heaving a sigh, she pushed herself off her bed and set off in the general direction of the door. A frustrated curse left her lips moments later when she found herself in contact with a cold wall, but since she could do nothing other than feel her way along the wall, she reigned in her growing ire.

Sesshoumaru looked up when he heard Rin's door open and was surprised to see a frown on her face as she stumbled out the door. She slowly approached and apparently sensed his presence since she smiled slightly as she sat down and accepted the cup of coffee that he pushed into her hands. He looked over and smirked to himself when he realised that her buttons were done up wrong. After wondering if he should mention it to her, he decided that he couldn't let her go about like that.

"Rin."

"Mm?" she replied in a distracted voice as she put her mug down on the table carefully.

"You've done your buttons up wrong," Sesshoumaru murmured, wondering how she would respond.

"Oh," Rin said with a sigh. "I thought I did."

Her hands lifted to the front of her shirt as she sat back in her chair as tried to find somewhere to start to correct the mistake. Sesshoumaru watched with mild amusement as she fumbled for a few minutes before he decided that he should perhaps intervene. Getting to his feet, he walked around the table and knelt at her side, turning her chair so that she was facing him. Rin's head snapped up when she felt herself being moved and glanced down to see a silver blur at her side. She relaxed slightly when she realised that it was Sesshoumaru.

"What are you doing?" she asked, pausing her fruitless attempts to correct her mistake.

"I'm going to help you," he replied calmly, pushing her hands aside gently.

Rin sighed. "I feel like such a child."

Sesshoumaru chuckled softly at that. "We both you are not a child."

Sesshoumaru had had to unbutton the whole shirt to correct Rin's mistake, but he wasn't complaining when he caught a glimpse of what lay beneath. He had been stunned by what he had seen the day before when she had returned to the cabin with her shirt hanging open, but that had simply been her bikini. This was something different entirely. What he was faced with now was her lingerie and there was no denying that he liked what he saw. The plain black bikini top from the day before had been replaced with a pale purple lace bra.

"I'm sorry you have to do this," Rin said softly, her eyes looking at him but not really seeing him.

"I don't mind," Sesshoumaru replied honestly. "We are going to be married soon anyway. It's a good opportunity for me to practice being considerate to someone."

"You're not always considerate?"

"Some would probably say that I'm not."

"What do you think?"

"I think the people who claim I'm not considerate aren't worth my attention."

Rin giggled. "I don't think you need to practice."

"Oh?"

"No, I think it'll probably just come naturally to you."

While the pair had been talking, Sesshoumaru movements had ceased and he found himself staring into her brown eyes, feeling something akin to awe as he looked at her. He was almost certain that she wouldn't be able to tell if he was looking directly at her and using this to his advantage, he looked into her eyes. He had been unsure of what he would find when he looked, but he was pleasantly surprised. The look in her eyes was gentle and reassuring. Sesshoumaru sat and looked at her closely for a moment. It amazed him that the eyes that were looking in his direction had seen so much pain and yet were still able to give him such a gentle look.

"Are the buttons done?" Rin asked after a short silence.

"No, sorry. I was distracted," Sesshoumaru admitted sheepishly.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked teasingly.

"Yes, now that you mention it," he replied, his voice showing his amusement at the direction the conversation had taken.

Rin laughed merrily at his admission, not entirely sure if she should take his words seriously or not. As she laughed, the pair were interrupted by a couple of knocks on the door. Sesshoumaru bit back a growl of irritation, knowing that it would most likely be Kohaku. The man seemed to enjoy coming by so early in the morning for a reason Sesshoumaru couldn't understand. Suddenly, a devious plan formed in his mind and he had to fight to withhold the grin that threatened to cross his face.

Frowning, Rin looked towards the source of the knock. She had been enjoying the moment of fun she had just shared with Sesshoumaru, but now it was ruined. Sighing to herself, she knew she shouldn't be upset about it. It was most likely one of her students and even as she thought about it, she knew that there was only one student that would be outside her cabin this early in the morning. It was definitely Kohaku. Frankly, she was beginning to get tired of the constant attention he gave her. She had no desire to do anything that involved the pair of them being alone. It could cause rumours and those rumours could damage her reputation.

"Shall we get rid of him quickly today?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, looking at the door when another knock came.

"It might be a good idea," Rin agreed. "All his attention is beginning to set me on edge."

Sesshoumaru glanced at her for a moment and thought over his idea once more, wondering if he should suggest it or not. Eventually, he decided that it was worth a try. If it didn't work then they would have to try something else to discourage to annoying man. He took Rin's hands in his own, causing her to look down at him in surprise.

"I have a plan. Will you go along with it?" Sesshoumaru asked seriously.

"If you think it'll get rid of him, then yes."

Nodding even though he knew the gesture wouldn't be seen, Sesshoumaru leaned towards her and began unbuttoning her shirt again as he explained the plan to her quietly. Rin giggled as she heard the plan but readily agreed. Her eyes widened slightly when she felt Sesshoumaru adjust his position to kneel between her legs as he continued to unbutton her shirt, but she said nothing. She knew she could trust him and knew that he would not do anything to her. Eventually, his fingers stopped moving and he sat back slightly, causing Rin to frown in confusion.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"You'll see in a minute," Sesshoumaru replied as he slipped his shirt off and tossed it carelessly aside.

At his request, Rin moved her arms to wrap around his shoulders and she smirked as she felt bare flesh beneath her fingers. A soft gasp left her lips as she felt strong arms wrap around her waist beneath her shirt and pull her towards the edge of her seat. Sesshoumaru lowered his lips to Rin's exposed neck and nuzzled it gently, smirking to himself when her head tipped to one side to allow him greater access to the soft skin. Tightening his arms around her slender waist, Sesshoumaru inhaled her scent deeply as he placed a soft kiss against her soft skin.

The door burst open moments later and Kohaku stood in the doorway, looking around quickly as though something was wrong. Keeping true to their roles, Sesshoumaru paused and tilted his head slightly to look at the younger man as though he had interrupted something and was pleased to see a look of horror cross Kohaku's face. The dark haired man stood rooted to the spot, his eyes glued on the couple before him. It didn't take a genius to work out what was going on and he couldn't believe his eyes. Rin was in the arms of another man and apparently enjoying herself, but what irked Kohaku the most was that that man was Sesshoumaru. There had been rivalry between them from the very beginning, but he had somehow hoped that he had the upper hand since he had been Rin's student for a couple of years whereas Sesshoumaru seemed to just appear in her life out of nowhere. Disappointment raced through him as he realised that he had lost.

Hastily, he stepped out of the cabin and closed the door behind him. A frown crossed his face as Kohaku stalked across the clearing back to his cabin. He had lost this time, but that didn't mean that he was going to give up on Rin. She may have given in to whatever trick Sesshoumaru was playing this time, but she would not do so again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X**

There had been no other incident during the trip and Kohaku had not come back to the cabin to see Rin for the remainder of the day and Sesshoumaru was surprised that the dark haired man didn't even come near her on the trip home on the bus as he had done before. They had never found out where Rin's glasses had disappeared to, but put it down to her misplacing them. Life returned to normal once they returned to the city and Rin found herself falling into the same routine as before. Her days were spent at the university and her evenings in Sesshoumaru's company as they finished planning the upcoming wedding.

It was startling how quickly time had passed and Rin found herself slightly overwhelmed by it all when she discovered that they had finished planning it and now simply had to wait the two weeks until the set date to see how it all turned out on the day. Many little things went wrong and required one or both of them to come up with a solution, but Rin was very glad that none of it was something that would drastically affect the wedding as they had planned it.

With less than a week before the wedding, Rin found herself walking down the corridor towards the campus head's office. The last time she had been in this man's office was when he had welcomed her as a member of the staff here at the university. Sighing softly, she knocked on the door when she came to it and entered when she heard someone call out to her. Her eyes widened as she stepped into the room and found Sesshoumaru sitting comfortably in a chair on one side of the desk with a very bored expression on his face while the head sat in his chair opposite Sesshoumaru, his hands clasped tightly on the desk in front of him and a slight frown marring his usually smiling face. What surprised her the most was the fact that Kohaku stood beside the window, his arms crossed and smug look on his face. Sighing to herself, Rin sat down beside Sesshoumaru knowing that whatever was going to happen now was probably not going to be very good.

"I'm sorry to call you here on such short notice," the head apologised and glanced at Rin. "I hope I didn't interrupt a lesson?"

"They have enough work to keep them going to the end of their lesson," Rin said as she pasted a smile onto her face.

"Why did you call us here?" Sesshoumaru spoke suddenly, his voice tinged with irritation. "I have work to do and this is sudden meeting is quite troublesome."

"I apologise," the head said sincerely before gesturing to Kohaku. "It seems that this young man had something he wanted to ask me but he wished the two of you to be present."

Sesshoumaru raised and eyebrow and looked at the younger man, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the smug look that seemed to have been on his face since his arrival. Evidently the man thought he had achieved something or was about to, but Sesshoumaru was fairly sure that the smug look on his face would not be there for much longer.

"This meeting is troublesome," Sesshoumaru repeated, his words directed at Kohaku this time. "Speak and get it over with."

"If you wish," Kohaku said with a smile as he turned his attention to the head. "From what I understand, a relationship between teachers here is not encouraged, am I right?"

"It is true that we do not encourage relationships between members of staff," the head said slowly, frowning as he spoke. "However, that rule is not strictly enforced any longer as it has caused problems in the past."

Kohaku was unmoved by the man's words. "Then you approve of teachers behaving inappropriately in the presence of their students?"

"Of course not. What is this all about?" the head demanded as he eventually lost patience.

"It is about those two behaving inappropriately during the trip we recently went on," Kohaku said calmly, gesturing towards Rin and Sesshoumaru.

The head frowned and looked at the pair who seemed quite baffled. Sesshoumaru shrugged and began tapping his long fingers impatiently on the arm of his chair while Rin looked back at the two men with a blank expression. She pushed her glasses up and sighed softly as she leaned back in her seat, resisting the urge to shake her head at Kohaku's antics.

"I see. What is this about?" the head said diplomatically, waiting for Kohaku to continue.

"I was under the impression that teachers were professionals who did not let their sexual desires get the better of them."

"In front of the students?!" the head demanded incredulously.

"In the cabin with students just outside."

There was silence in the room and Rin covered her mouth with her hand as she tried to hide her smile. So that's what this was about. Sesshoumaru said nothing, choosing instead to tap his fingers faster as he grew more irritated by the situation. Kohaku's smug smile grew as the head leaned back in his chair and sighed quietly. After a few more moments of silence, the head rose to his feet and stood beside Kohaku, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"If this happened in a cabin, it does not breach the rules," the head said seriously. "No students are to enter a teacher's room without their permission so they have done nothing wrong."

"But…" Kohaku gasped, staring at the older man as though he had sprouted an extra head.

"What couples do in their spare time has nothing to do with me or the school."

"What about the rules about teachers having relationships?"

"Even if the rule was still enforced, which it is not, that rule would not apply in this situation."

"Why not?" Kohaku demanded, beginning to get angry when he realised he was losing to Sesshoumaru once again.

The head tried in vain to get the younger man to calm down while Rin and Sesshoumaru looked on silently. Since the true reason for the meeting had revealed itself, they had said nothing, deciding that it was a matter best left to the head. Kohaku glanced at the pair and glared at Sesshoumaru before turning a softer gaze to Rin who shifted her shoulders slightly as she adjusted her seating position.

"Why would the rules not apply to them?!"

"The rules do not apply to them simply because only one of them is a member of staff here," the head said as he sat down again. "In any case, it wouldn't matter much even if both worked here considering the engagement."

"Who's engaged?" Kohaku demanded, frowning as dread began to build within him.

The head frowned and looked at Rin. "You have not told your students?"

"It's none of their business," Rin said simply, shrugging as she spoke. "But, considering the current situation, it would perhaps have been better if I did tell them."

"Tell us what?" Kohaku asked, his anger fading as he realised that he had lost again even though he didn't know how.

"These two are engaged and will married soon," the head with a smile at Rin and Sesshoumaru.

Rin watched with concern as Kohaku's face paled as he heard the words and she wondered briefly if he would pass out from shock, but he remained standing where he was and sighed softly. If Sesshoumaru had been in a better mood, he might have pitied the man, but as it was, the man had disrupted his day and therefore was not deserving of any pity. Rising to his feet, he looked at the head expressionlessly.

"Is that all?" he deadpanned.

"Yes, thank you for your time and I apologise for the inconvenience," the head said with a slight smile.

Without a word, Sesshoumaru strode out of the office and Rin apologised to the head quickly for causing such trouble before hastily following him out. Sesshoumaru was nowhere in sight when she left the office and Rin was left to slowly make her way back to her own department. She would never have guessed Kohaku would go to such lengths to get her attention, but she supposed she had never spoken to him about anything other than what they studied so she knew very little about him. She stepped into the class that she had left earlier and noticed that all the students had left which wasn't much of a surprise, but what was a surprise was the neat pile of work that they had completed and left for her to grade. Shaking her head, she picked up her small pile of books and placed the work on top of it as she headed towards the café. It had been a long time since she had been there and seeing Rika would be nice.

* * *

As the wedding day drew ever closer, Rin found herself spending more time withSesshoumaru than alone although she really didn't mind. She had been given time off from work and Sesshoumaru left his fellow chefs to man the kitchens at the restaurant while he accompanied Rin and an esate agent as they searched for the home they would share after they married. He didn't really mind what kind of house it was as long as it was big enough to house all their belongings. Izayoi had spent a long time talking to Rin about what she should look for in a house and Sesshoumaru could tell that Rin had been overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information. The pair had been referred to the same person who had found a home for Inuyasha and Kagome and then elderly woman had been overjoyed to hear that he would be helping the other Taisho son find a home for him and his fianceé.

Rin took an immediate liking to the elderly estate agent and enjoyed the time the trio spent together even though she was quite sure that Sesshoumaru would have much preferred to do this alone. The man was patient and eager to help wherever possible. He frequently made comments about how good it was to see Sesshoumaru finally settling down and getting married which made Sesshoumaru shift uncomfortably in his seat before the man would turn his eyes to Rin and compliment her until she blushed prettily.

"This is one of the best houses on sale at the moment," the man said as he pushed a sheet of paper with a house on it towards the couple. "It's a very good price as well considering its size."

"Is it not a little too big?" Rin asked, looking at Sesshoumaru with a frown as he looked at the picture of the house.

"It'll be perfect for children!" the estate agent said with a grin.

"We're not planning to have children just yet," Sesshoumaru stated as he pushed away the paper. "Is there something a little smaller?"

"Certainly! We have two available, would you like to visit them?"

"Please."

Rin followed the two men towards the first of the two houses and fell in love with it the instant she laid eyes on it. It was a bit bigger than her own two bedroomed home but it was very quaint. The large garden that surrounded it was beautifully tended to and the house itself was spotless. There were three bedrooms which the estate agent mentioned would be useful for children who didn't like to share bedrooms before leading them into the master bedroom. Rin gaped at it as she looked around the enormous bedroom. She swore it was about the same size as her living room. Sesshoumaru looked around it and nodded appreciatively as he stepped into the room. Large windows lined one side of the room overlooking the gardens while a doorway stood opposite the windows and led into the en suite bathroom that was impossibly big. Rin could only shake her head at the scale of everything. She was used to small things as they were all her meagre budget would allow, but this simply floored her. The man left the pair alone in the empty bedroom and disappeared down the corridor to the kitchen just as Sesshoumaru turned to look at Rin.

"What do you think?" he asked, looking at her seriously.

"It's incredible," she murmured with a vague smile as she looked out the window.

"Would you like to live here?"

"Shouldn't we see the other house first?"

"It doesn't really matter," Sesshoumaru said with a shrug. "This is the cheaper of the two."

"Do you like this house?"

"I do. I believe I could live here quite happily."

"So could I."

"Then we will get this house."

Later that day, Rin smiled to herself as she walked into her own home and looked around her. She decided that she should probably make a start on packigng away her belongings if she was going to move after the wedding, but decided to leave the task until the next day. Picking up the mail she had carelessly left on the table before leaving the house that morning, Rin sat down in the living room and flipped through the small pile of envelopes, sighing as she saw several bills. Looking up from the mail, she sighed softly to herself as she thought about the next few days. In just two days time, she would be a member of the Taisho family and would be married to one of the most eligible bachelors in the city. It was an amazing thought and until now, she hadn't stopped to consider just how lucky she was even though they weren't marrying for love. She was nervous about the prospect of what it would mean to be married to Sesshoumaru Taisho and excited about seeing how the wedding would turn out after all their planning. Rin desperately hoped it would turn out well, but she suspected that the Taisho family would take steps to make sure nothing went wrong.

Smiling to herself as she thought about the people who would soon become her family, she turned her attention back to the mail that sat in her hands and decided to finish going through it before she went to bed. A short while later, all the relevant bills and letters had been piled neatly to one side while the junk mail sat opposite it with a tiny pile of interesting looking envelopes in the middle. Rin got to her feet and scooped up the rather large pile of junk mail and deposited it in the bin before returning to her seat and looking through her bills. Sighing at the never ending demand for money, she neatly piled the bills and made a mental note to pay them as soon as possible before turning to the remaining pile. There were only two envelopes in this pile. One of them was a letter from an old school friend, but it was the second envelope that caught Rin's attention. It was white with not a single smudge on the clean surface of the envelope. Her name and address had been printed neatly in the exact centre of it and Rin wondered who would put such care into addressing and envelope. Shrugging to herself, she turned it over and slid her nail under the edges as she opened it carefully. A wad of papers sat inside and Rin drew them out with a frown. Opening them up, she glanced at the sender's address at the top of the letter and her frown deepened as she started to read. By the end of the letter, her mouth was hanging open in shock and she could do nothing but stare at the letter as though it were a bomb about to explode. The contents of the letter were unbelievable. Casting it aside hastily, Rin stood up and walked down the corridor to her bedroom. This had to be a mistunderstanding of some sort. Perhaps she would wake up in the morning and find that she had simply imagined it all?

* * *

**AN:** I know this chapter is shorter than the others and I apologise. The events in the second half don't really flow very well, but never mind. I wanted to start the next part of the story in a new chapter so that's why this one is so short. I'll start working on the next chapter tomorrow and hopefully it should be up the same day.

Thank you for all the reviews so far! I'm very glad this story is well received. I was worried it might be too much like the others I've been writing recently. Thank you again!

xMxAx


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter XI**

Rin yawned and stretched as she stepped out of her bed the next day. It was a strange feeling not to be rushing around preparing for work, but the change was not unwelcome. After going through her usual morning routine at a slower pace than usual, Rin sat down in her living room as she debated what to do with her free time that day. Sesshoumaru was working for the final time before the wedding that would take place the next day, which left Rin with time to relax before the big day finally arrived. As she slumped down in her seat with a sigh of contentment, she caught sight of the envelope she had left behind on the table the night before and she frowned slightly. Remembering that she had not been pleased by the envelope's contents the night before, she was loath to pick it up again in case what she saw had not been part of her imagination or one of her dreams.

Eventually, she gathered her courage and reached for the envelope, sliding out the wad of papers she had looked at the night before. Much to her dismay, the contents of the papers was the same as it had been the day before. Sighing to herself, she slowly read through the papers and then looked up as she took a deep breath once she had read the very last line. None of what was written made much sense to her but one name did stand out and caught her attention immediately as though it was written in enormous bold letters on the page in her hand. Kazuo Nakamura. Just reading the name caused her heartstrings to twinge as floods of memories came back to her. Rin had spent a long time carefully making sure that memories of her brother were hidden far below the surface of her mind where they would not rise unbidden, but this letter had undone all her hard work with just the simple mention of his name.

Why was she suddenly being contacted by what looked like an authority of some sort? She couldn't for the life of her understand why anyone would contact her now about her brother when he had died two and a half years previously. Anyone who had even the vaguest connection to her small family had known of his death even though she had no idea how the news had spread and Rin doubted that only one person would be left out of the loop. Still, why was her brother's name suddenly being brought up when it brought so much grief for her to remember the events before and after his death? To make matters worse, this had to come on the day before her wedding day. She wasn't marrying the love of her life, but the fact remained that she was getting married and this letter and all it stood for could probably ruin everything she had worked so hard to achieve.

Just as she was trying to understand why she was suddenly sent the letter, the phone that sat on the table beside her chair rang loudly and shattered the silence. Turning slightly in her seat, Rin looked down at it and wondered who could be calling her so early in the morning. Izayoi and Kagome had told her to relax today and promised not to contact her unless there was an emergency, so Rin doubted it would be them. There would be no one else who would call her since her other friends were working. Frowning at the phone, she tried very hard to quash the apprehension that began to grow within her. Reaching for it, she cleared her throat just before picking it up and prayed her fears were unfounded.

"Hello?" she asked cautiously.

"Miss Nakamura?" an emotionless feminine voice queried.

"Yes, who is this?"

"I'm Chiyo Fukui from the Social Services. Are you available to talk?"

"Yes, I am. What did you need to speak to me about?"

"Might I suggest we discuss this in person? I don't believe it is appropriate to discuss this over the telephone."

Rin froze and took a deep breath as she recovered from the slight shock those words had given her. "Of course."

"Are you at home today?"

"Yes."

"I will visit you in an hour's time to discuss this matter."

"Alright…"

"Good bye."

Rin was left staring at the phone in her hand and listening to the monotonous beep that signalled a dead line. Frowning slightly, she replaced the phone in its cradle and sat back to stare from the phone to the letter that sat on the table. She instinctively knew this was something serious, but she couldn't find any reason why the Social Services would be calling her. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and replaced her glasses as she wondered what she should do next. She didn't want to face this woman alone, but she didn't really know who to call. Izayoi and Kagome would be busy and just about everyone else was working which left her alone to face the frightening woman from the Social Services. The thought terrified her. Without pausing to rethink her actions, she reached for the phone and dialled a number she had now memorised.

A gruff male voice answered after a couple of rings. "Yes?"

"It's Rin," she said hesitantly.

"Rin? What's the matter?"

"I'm so sorry to bother you at work, Sesshoumaru."

"That doesn't matter. Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," Rin admitted. "I think there might be."

"That doesn't make sense, Rin," Sesshoumaru replied.

"I don't understand what's going on. A woman from the Social Services is coming to see me in an hour and I don't know why!"

"She didn't say what the reason for her visit was?"

"No. She just said that it wasn't appropriate to discuss the matter over the phone."

"Where is she meeting you?"

"At my house."

"I'll be there shortly."

For the second time that day, Rin found herself staring at the phone in confusion. She hadn't really expected Sesshoumaru to come to the house although she wasn't going to complain about it. At least she wasn't going to have to face the woman alone and that was one weight off her mind. Still, she wondered how Sesshoumaru could just up and leave the restaurant in the middle of the day, but since he was the owner, she supposed he was able to do such things. All she had to do now was wait for him to arrive and pray it was before the other woman did.

*-*-*-*-*

Just as he said, Sesshoumaru arrived a short while before the woman from the Social Services. After questioning Rin and reading through the letter she showed him, he decided that he had no idea what was going on either and promised to stay with Rin until the meeting was over. He knew that Rin would probably panic if left alone and considering the wedding was the next day, he wanted to avoid that at all costs. Sitting quietly on the sofa, he watched as she sprang to her feet and hurried to the door when there was a knock a short while after his arrival. Rising to his feet, he nodded politely to the woman who entered the room behind Rin and took his seat again; silently overjoyed that Rin sat beside him.

"Who is this gentleman?" Chiyo asked in a clipped tone.

"I am Rin's fiancée," Sesshoumaru answered. "What is this about?"

The woman sighed and shifted in her seat slightly. "Firstly, I would like to apologise for bringing up this subject, but it is a matter of grave importance."

"Please don't worry about that now," Rin said politely.

"Since you are Mr. Nakamura's sister, I assume you knew about his relationship with Megumi Shimizu, so we'll move right along…"

"I'm sorry?" Rin interrupted with a gasp. "What relationship was this?"

"You didn't know?" the woman as in surprise.

"I had no idea he had any kind of relationship with anyone other than the suppliers of his drugs."

"I see. Well the rest of this conversation will come as quite a surprise then."

"What does this relationship have to do with her brother?" Sesshoumaru asked, interrupting and wanting to get to the point.

"Mr. Nakamura had been in a long term relationship with Ms. Shimizu for quite some time according to our sources although I cannot think why you did not know of this."  
"I may have met her," Rin said thoughtfully. "I didn't really pay much attention to all the women that came and went from the apartment I shared with him though."

"Regardless," Chiyo continued as though Rin had not spoken. "At the time of Mr. Nakamura's death, Ms. Shimizu was two weeks pregnant. She apparently didn't know how to contact you to tell you about this which is possibly why you didn't know about their relationship."

"Was the child Kazuo's?" Rin asked, a growing sense of apprehension once again building within her.

"Yes, that has been confirmed. Were he still alive, your brother would be the proud father to two healthy children."

"Twins?!"

"Indeed. That is what I have come to talk to you about."

"You've come to tell me that I am an aunt?" Rin asked, frowning at the other woman. "No, I have come to tell you that both those children have been taken into care by the Social Services."

"Why?" Sesshoumaru asked when Rin simply stared in shock at Chiyo.

"We heard reports of Ms. Shimizu began drinking shortly after the birth of the twins and we have confirmed those reports to be true."

"What does this have to do with me?" Rin asked with a frown.

"Ms. Shimizu's family apparently did not approve of the relationship and want nothing to do with the children so we must turn to you as the only surviving relative that is known to us. We are asking that you take in the children otherwise they will be sent to an orphanage to await adoption."

The shock of that statement hit Rin like a tonne of bricks and she could do nothing but stare. Beside her, Sesshoumaru was just as surprised, but he didn't show it as obviously as Rin did. This woman wanted Rin to look after these two children and provide them with a home? That meant that the quiet life they had been carefully planning would be shattered. They would have to look after the children as though they were their own and that idea didn't sit well with him.

"You want me to act as their mother?" Rin asked in confusion.

"No. We are only asking that you act as their legal guardian until they are old enough to care for themselves."

"I see. This is very sudden, are you expecting an immediate response? This does not involve only me," Rin explained as she glanced at Sesshoumaru.

"Oh no," the other woman reassured her. "I am aware of how sudden this is and I am also aware that you are getting married tomorrow. As a result, I will give you one week to decide what to do. If I don't hear anything from you or receive a negative response, the children will go into care. You may contact me on this number when you have made your decision."

After leaving a card on the table beside the letter, the woman rose to her feet and left the house. The pair who remained in the living room eyed the card on the table as though they expected it to explode. Eventually, Rin broke the silence as she sat back and sighed softly, pulling off her glasses to rub her eyes as she thought over the situation. It was a surreal situation. She had always known that her brother enjoyed the company of women and she had frequently seen them coming and going from the apartment, but she paid no mind. It seemed that at some point, Megumi Shimizu had snuck into her brother's life and had somehow become a permanent fixture, but Rin would never know how the woman managed to accomplish such a feat. Still, how she had done it made little difference now. She had been declared an unfit mother and her children taken away to be hopefully raised by their aunt. The very thought that she had been an aunt for quite some time and hadn't known about it made Rin's head spin slightly. It was such a strange thought.

"What do we do?" Rin asked as she put her glasses back on and looked seriously at Sesshoumaru. "These children may be part of my family, but it is not a decision I can make alone."

"What would you do if we were not marrying?" Sesshoumaru asked curiously.

"I'd take them in," she answered instantly. "I don't want them to go into care, but like I said, this isn't something I can decide alone."

"It's strange to think that we agreed not to even consider children until we had been married at least a year and yet we're faced with the prospect of raising two before we've even reached the altar."

"It is strange."

"It's a big responsibility looking after children, especially after they've been taken from their mother," Sesshoumaru mused.

"It is a very big responsibility," Rin agreed, thinking over the situation.

"Although it might be a big responsibility, I can't think of a better person to look after those children than you."

"Me? Why?"

"You've lost your parents, haven't you? They may be young, but they must feel lost in much the same way you did when you lost yours."

"That's true. If we take the children in though, it'll ruin the plans we made."

"We can adjust the plans."

"You realise that you will be their uncle?"

"Indeed."

"You're still willing to do this?"

"I think it would be better for those children in the long run to be raised by someone related to them rather than a complete stranger."

Rin smiled happily at him and leaned over to peck his cheek gently to show her gratitude. Sesshoumaru had to fight the blush that threatened to creep over his pale features as a result of that simple gesture and shifted in his seat as though unable to get comfortable while Rin looked on with mild amusement. It was true that their plans had been upset, but this was definitely the first step he could take to showing Rin that he could be an attentive and caring husband since he knew that he probably didn't give off that impression. Their marriage was one of convenience, but he still wanted to make their life as easy as possible and he was certain Rin felt the same way. There was no point in making things awkward between them when they would be vowing to spend the rest of their lives together the very next day. The smile on Rin's face as she heard his decision had made his heart leap because of her sheer beauty and he had confirmed to himself that he had made the right decision by saying what he did. Tomorrow they would marry and then shortly after that they would have two children to add to their small family. Only time would tell if the decision they had just made was for better or for worse, but Sesshoumaru could only hope that it was for the better.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII**

The wedding day finally dawned and Sesshoumaru found himself wandering around in a daze as he followed his brother and father out of his apartment. The pair had burst into his apartment far too early that morning and had hauled him from his bed in a manner that he considered far too rough. Once he had gotten himself ready to face the day, the pair had grinned at him as they reminded him of his impending marriage and dragged him out of the building, making a beeline for the Church where the wedding would take place.

The Church that they had chosen had an almost eerie atmosphere about it as Sesshoumaru stepped into that morning. Despite all the ribbons and garlands of flowers that hung from the doorways and the pews, the silence that hung about the place was oppressive. Managing to escape from his brother and father, Sesshoumaru wandered into the main hall and sat down heavily on the front pew where he knew his family would be sitting during the ceremony. That thought irked him. He didn't like the fact that they were sitting so close behind him and would no doubt be watching him like a hawk to make sure he did everything perfectly. Still, he supposed it wouldn't be for very long so he could bear with it even though it annoyed him.

As he looked around him, Sesshoumaru had to admit that the Church was a beautiful piece of architecture. It was a very old building but had lasted well through the years. The wooden doors were varnished and beautifully decorated with carvings while the enormous windows still stood intact as they allowed the soft morning light to filter down into the hall. Even the enormous stained glass windows still looked as though they had only just been painted despite the fact that Sesshoumaru had read that this Church had been standing for at least a century. Sighing to himself, he knew that this would be a memorable day, but he could only hope that it would be for the right reasons.

"So this is where you are," Inuyasha's voice drifted over to his brother as he walked down the aisle towards him.

"You were looking for me?" Sesshoumaru asked, looked at his brother curiously.

"Not really. There's still a couple of hours before the ceremony so you don't need to worry about getting just yet. I was just wondering where you had wandered off to," the younger brother said as he sat down.

"I see."

"Are you nervous?"

"Not as much as I expected," Sesshoumaru admitted. "It's hard to get my head around today though."

"Why? Is it that much of a surprise that you've getting married?"

"It is."

"Even though it's not the same kind of marriage as mine or our parents', the fact remains that you're marrying a good person, Sesh," Inuyasha said seriously. "I heard from Rin about what happened yesterday."

"Oh?"

"I think you did a good thing and I think it means a lot to Rin."

"I thought she would approve of that decision."

"She did."

"What are you two doing?!" Miroku's voice demanded from the doorway. "There's still so much to do and you're sitting there having a heart to heart? Could you not have done that yesterday?"

Grinning at his friend, Inuyasha nudged his brother and rose to his feet as the trio made their way towards the door. As he reached the door at the end of the aisle, Sesshoumaru turned to look back into the Church. The next time he walked into this room, it would be full of people and he would be leaving here with a wife. It was a strange thought but not altogether unpleasant. He had been having doubts about the whole idea of a marriage of convenience, but perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.

*-*-*-*-*

Rin stared at Izayoi with a mixture of irritation and surprise building within her. The woman was smiling cheerfully at her and holding out a little container holding the contacts she had just asked Rin to wear in place of her glasses.

"I know you don't like them, dear," Izayoi said with a smile. "You would look so much prettier if you wore these instead of those glasses today though."  
"She's right," Kagome joined in. "Those glasses hide your face and you don't want that today."

Rin sighed in defeat. "Alright. I'll wear them today, but I'm never wearing them again."

"That's fine, dear," Izayoi said cheerfully as she handed the container to Rin. "Change into your dress when you're done."

After finally managing to get the wretched contacts in place, Rin obediently changed into her dress and sat quietly on the little chair in front of the mirror as the two women bustled around her. Sango and Ayame chatted happily in the background as they added the finished touches to their attire and would occasionally give Rin some advice about obscure things that Rin doubted she would ever need to know. Still, she remained silent and let the information go in one ear and out the other. There was no need to store information she saw no point in. After what seemed like hours, Rin was finally declared ready and subjected to hugs and kisses from the four women until Inutaisho came to her rescue when he poked his head through the door.

"You're ready?" he asked, grinning as he looked at Rin.

"Yes, she is," Izayoi said with a smile as she walked over to her husband. "Let's go ladies, the ceremony is about to start."

Following behind the little group at a slower pace, Rin took a deep breath as she tried to put her nerves at ease. The group disappeared into the hall and Inuyasha looked out to find her. Grinning at her, he walked over to her and gave her a bone-crushing hug before offering his arm.

"You're not nervous?" he asked quietly as they waited for a moment before going into the hall.

"A little bit," Rin admitted with a small smile as Inuyasha pulled down the veil she had forgotten about.

Inuyasha patted her hand gently and smiled. "No one will notice that. I'm sure you'll knock everyone off their feet with how incredible you look."

"Now, now," Rin said with a smirk. "There's no need for that. What would your wife say?"

"She'd probably agree!"

"I'm sure she would."

Moments later, Rin found herself walking down the aisle beside Inuyasha and clutched his arm tightly as she felt a wave of nervousness wash over her. In response, her friend squeezed her hand gently as they continued to walk towards the altar where Sesshoumaru stood. Much to her surprise, he was fidgeting with his cuffs, which betrayed his nervousness. Relief rushed over her in waves as she realised that she wasn't alone in feeling so nervous.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Sesshoumaru turned around and almost gasped in surprise. He knew Rin would look beautiful today, but somehow, she was even more beautiful than he had first thought. What surprised him the most was that beneath her veil, he couldn't see her glasses. Smirking inwardly, he supposed that that would explain why she was clutching his brother's arm so tightly. Amber eyes trailed down her slender figure and he had to suppress the smile that threatened to creep across his face with difficulty. The elegant strapless white dress that Rin wore clung to her curves and caused him to catch his breath as he watched her approach. The asymmetrical design of the dress suited her perfectly and when she came to a stop beside him, Sesshoumaru saw the delicate floral embroidery along the hem of the dress and on the bodice. All in all, he concluded that most of the men in the congregation behind him were probably quite envious.

From the corner of her eye, Rin glanced at Sesshoumaru and smiled slightly when she found his gaze trained on her. Even though she found relief in the fact that she was not the only person nervous, it didn't get rid of her nerves completely. Pushing aside her thoughts, she focused on the priest's words as she tried to calm herself. Surprise raced through her when she felt Sesshoumaru take her hand in his and then slide the delicate ring onto her finger, but what surprised her even more was the fact that he didn't let go of her hand when the deed was done. Panic replaced surprise as she realised that while she had been lost in her attempts to calm herself, the ceremony had flown past and soon, the priest would be announcing them husband and wife. When he did that, Rin knew it was traditional to kiss and she wondered if this little detail had occurred to Sesshoumaru as well.

Sesshoumaru felt Rin's grip on his hand tighten for a moment and he glanced down at her to find her biting her lip slightly. He caught himself before he frowned and tried to come to an understanding as to why she had suddenly looked so nervous. Noting that she was still biting her lip, realisation dawned on him. Almost as though he was standing very far away from everyone, Sesshoumaru heard the priest announce them husband and wife and he stiffened slightly as he saw the man's smile as he looked from the silver haired man to the woman that was now his wife. Turning to look at her, he felt her squeeze his hand as she smiled at him gently although uncertainty lurked in her eyes for a moment. At the priest's bidding, Sesshoumaru took a deep breath and leaned towards Rin, promising himself that he would apologise profusely when they were alone later. He curled his long fingers around the back of her neck and pulled her towards him as he leaned down towards her. Fortunately there was not a great deal of different between them in terms of height, but Rin still had to stand on her toes to meet him halfway. For a very brief moment, their lips met and there was cheering and laughing behind them as the congregation rose to their feet to applaud the couple. Rin smiled slightly as she parted and blushed as she quickly looked away much to Sesshoumaru's amusement.

*-*-*-*

Once all the formalities of the after party had been dealt with, Rin sighed to herself as she watched everyone mingle and talk amongst themselves. Nerves had prevented her from sleeping well the night before and she was paying for it now. She was pleased that her wedding had turned out so well, but she still felt drained. The temptation to slip out of the room and find a quiet place where she could sleep for a while was almost overwhelming, but she managed to resist.

Sesshoumaru glanced at her and almost smiled at the tired look on her face. She looked as though she could fall asleep in her seat. Knowing that she probably would do just that, he rose to his feet and urged her to her feet as well. The sooner the evening ended, the sooner she could go to bed. The celebration had been going since the ceremony that afternoon and he decided that it was definitely long enough. Taking her small hand in his, he made his way through the throngs of people and came to an abrupt stop when he found his parents. Rin raised an eyebrow when she nearly walked into his, but chose to say nothing as she gave Inutaisho and Izayoi a tired smile.

"I think it's time we left," Sesshoumaru said quietly, hoping they could slip out unnoticed.

"I think that would be wise, dear," Izayoi agreed as she noticed that Rin was almost asleep on her feet. "You've both had a long day. Go home and get some rest."

Ignoring the wink that his brother gave him, Sesshoumaru nodded politely to the group and waited as long as it took for Rin to say her goodbyes before taking her hand again and walking out the building. After a short drive, he came to a stop in front of their new house and gazed up at it for a few moments. It was the house he now shared with his wife and it was a bizarre thought. Still, he supposed one didn't get used to the idea of being married in only a day. Turning in his seat, he looked at Rin and wasn't entirely surprised to find her sleeping peacefully. For a moment he didn't know what to do before deciding that it was probably best to wake her.

"Rin, wake up," he murmured as he reached across the space between them to shake her shoulder gently. "We've arrived at the house."

Rin frowned and muttered something intelligible before turning her head away from him. Sighing softly, Sesshoumaru shook his head as he realised he was probably not going to succeed in waking her up. With a little difficulty, he managed to lift her out of the car and was heading up the steps to the house when he realised that he faced yet another problem. He still had to unlock and open the door and it would be virtually impossible to do so while holding Rin. Heaving yet another sigh, Sesshoumaru carefully set her on her feet just in front of the door and held her against him with one hand while he unlocked the door with the other.

The whole process took far longer than necessary, but Sesshoumaru was just glad when he had finally reached the bedroom and Rin was lying comfortably on the soft bed. Fortunately, Rin had changed out of her wedding dress before the celebration party and what she currently wore was suitable for her to sleep in. Sesshoumaru had no desire to attempt to undress her in anyway but decided that he would at least take her shoes off. Since they now shared a bed, he didn't particularly want to be kicked in the middle of the night by a high heeled shoe. Covering Rin with the blanket, he shrugged off his jacket as he began preparing for bed.

Tomorrow would be the beginning of their life as a couple and that thought was as exciting as it was terrifying. Soon they would have to meet the two additions to their family and Sesshoumaru could only wonder how that meeting would go. With any luck, the twins would settle into their new life as in this house easily, but somehow he doubted it. As he lay down on the bed beside Rin, he glanced at her and smiled slightly at the peaceful look on her face. Deciding to take a leaf out of her book, he rolled over onto his side and waited for sleep to claim him. There was no sense worrying about things that he had no control over. How the twins would deal with their new life was a bridge they would cross when they came to it. Worrying about it now would do nothing and simply make him needlessly anxious. It was best to just wait and see what the next day would bring.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter XIII**

When the next day dawned, Rin was both excited and anxious about meeting the twins and Sesshoumaru could only smirk at her mixed emotions. The woman they had spoken to before had suggested that she bring the children to the house rather than the newly married couple coming to her office to collect them. This situation had suited everyone and Rin soon found that the time when Chiyo would be arriving was almost upon them.

"Do you think they'll be able to adjust to living with us instead of their mother?" Rin asked with a frown as she pushed up her glasses.

"They are probably very young children," Sesshoumaru speculated as he reclined on the bed and watched Rin securing stray strands of hair with clips and once again lamented the fact that he had missed the opportunity to see her hair down. "They can probably adjust well."

"I hope you're right."

Sesshoumaru wasn't given a chance to reply as he heard a knock at the door and noticed Rin stiffen slightly as she heard it as well. The pair walked back to the living room and Sesshoumaru disappeared to answer the door while Rin nervously waited. Moments later, Sesshoumaru walked back into the room with Chiyo at his side and two little children following behind. Once the greetings were over with, Sesshoumaru sat beside Rin and waited to hear what the other woman had to say.

"I'm glad you agreed to this," Chiyo said, smiling for the very first time as she looked at the couple. "It is better for the children to be with someone related to them rather than a stranger. Congratulations as well."

"Thank you," Sesshoumaru said quietly, slipping an arm around Rin's waist and pulling her into his side as he made sure to act up the role of the loving husband.

Blushing slightly at the unexpected contact, Rin remained silent and fixed a smile to her face. She knew it would make a better impression if they looked like a loving couple rather than a pair who had no romantic feelings for each other at all. Sighing to herself, she relaxed against Sesshoumaru and had to smother her giggle when she felt him stiffen slightly. This might be slightly awkward, but it was also rather amusing.

"These are the two children I spoke to you about," the other woman said, gesturing to the two children sitting beside her on the sofa. "They are twins. Ichirou is older than Hana by a little bit."

As Rin watched Chiyo explain the situation to the children as best she could, she wondered how the children would react. She marvelled at how Ichirou could pass for a younger version of her brother but quickly pushed the thought aside. A smile crossed her face as she saw Hana look at her with questioning eyes for a moment before turning to look Sesshoumaru with those same wide eyes. Glancing at the man beside her, she noted that he didn't show any expression on his face, but that was normal. It worried her briefly that the children might be afraid of the stoic and quiet man, but her fears proved unfounded.

In a movement so quick that her eyes could barely follow it, Hana had crossed the distance between the sofa she had been sitting on and the sofa Rin and Sesshoumaru occupied. Glancing down in surprise, Rin felt a smile tug her lips as she saw the little girl sitting beside Sesshoumaru and clutching his arm tightly. The silver haired man looked bemused but he didn't pull away from the little girl. Looking down at the girl, his gaze was met by a slightly scared look as the girl tightened her grip on his arm.

"I see my work here is done," Chiyo said with a broad smile. "I had worried they might not adjust well, but it seems I was wrong. I hope you will all be very happy."

Getting to her feet to see the other woman out, Rin smiled at Sesshoumaru briefly as she passed and left him alone in the company of the children for a short while. When she returned, she was surprised to find Hana sitting comfortably on Sesshoumaru's lap with her tiny hands clutching his shirt tightly. Evidently, Sesshoumaru's appeal to those of the female persuasion was not just restricted to adults. She sat down beside him and turned her gaze to the little boy who hadn't moved from his seat on the other side of the room. Surprise washed over her when he smiled at her and got to his feet. He walked over to sit beside her and smiled broadly.

"You're papa's sister?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Yes, I am."

"We going to live with you now?"

"Yes," Rin said with a smile as he sat down beside her. "You're going to live here with us."

Ichirou grinned and wrapped his small arms around her neck as he snuggled into her side. Rin heard a snort of amusement from Sesshoumaru and turned to look at him questioningly. He simply shrugged and looked down at Hana.

"It seems that this is going to be easier than we thought," he murmured, shifting slightly in his seat and smirking at the little girl's protests at his movement.

"It probably won't be," Rin said with a smile as she sat back. "Hana certainly seems attached to you though."

"Hana doesn't like talking," Ichirou said as he looked at his sister before glancing at Sesshoumaru. "She might talk to you."

"Why doesn't she like talking?" Sesshoumaru asked, watching in amusement as the little boy climbed onto Rin's lap and looked up at him with a serious expression.

"I think she misses mama."

"What was your mama like?" Rin asked curiously.

"Horrible!" Ichirou muttered darkly, crossing his little arms as he spoke. "She used to shout all the time and Hana was always crying because she was scared of mama's shouting."

"Oh dear," Rin murmured, looking at the little girl with concern.

"Hana! Aunt Rin's going to look after us now!" the little boy said cheerfully as he pointed at Rin.

Hana looked up from where she had buried her face in Sesshoumaru's shirt and looked at Rin curiously. The two females simply looked at each other for a moment before the younger of the two smiled and tentatively held out her small hand to Rin. Returning the smile and taking the proffered hand, Rin sighed softly in content. Sesshoumaru smiled inwardly and thought over the situation again. Perhaps having two children around wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. It did complicate matters slightly, but there were no obstacles that couldn't be overcome.

*-*-*-*-*

Rin sighed softly as she leaned back against the pillows on the soft bed. She felt slightly uncomfortable about sharing a bed with Sesshoumaru, but she supposed it shouldn't matter. It's not like anything was going to happen between them so she had nothing to worry about. The man himself said nothing about the arrangement but simply slipped beneath the covers beside her and reached over to switch off the light beside the bed. Not for the first time, Rin wondered what he was thinking and eventually pushed the thought aside as she rolled onto her side and tried to get some sleep.

On his side of the bed, Sesshoumaru glanced at Rin's back as she made herself comfortable. His gaze followed the curve of her body before it turned to the ceiling above him. He had watched silently as Rin put the twins to bed earlier and even now, as he waited for sleep to claim him, he couldn't help but wonder if they would stay alone in those rooms since it was their first night in a strange house.

All thought vanished as he drifted into sleep but he was woken up a short while later by a tugging on the bedcovers. Cracking an eye open, he almost smirked when he saw the twins standing beside the bed, looking at him expectantly with their wide eyes. Hana clutched her brother's hand tightly with one of her own small hands while the other held on tightly to a doll. Ichirou seemed to sigh as he looked at his sister, but Sesshoumaru could see the look of uncertainty that lurked in his eyes even though he tried to hide it. Propping himself up on an elbow, Sesshoumaru looked at the twins pointedly and waited to hear their story even though he suspected he already knew what they would say.

"Hana woke me up with her crying," Ichirou said in an exaggerated whisper as he crossed his arms and pouted.

Before Sesshoumaru could reply, Rin rolled over onto her side and groaned quietly. Evidently, she had heard the attempted whisper and had woken up. In the semi-darkness, Sesshoumaru saw her eyes open, but he knew that she wouldn't be able to see anything without her glasses. She too propped herself up on an elbow and squinted into the darkness.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked, her voice husky from sleep. "What's going on?"

"The children can't sleep," Sesshoumaru murmured in response.

"Oh dear, what's wrong? Are you scared?"

"Hana is quite upset it seems."

Rin smiled and leaned back against the pillows as Sesshoumaru held the covers back enough for the twins to crawl into the bed and make themselves comfortable between the two adults. Rin rolled onto her side and smiled as Ichirou snuggled against her and wrapped her arm around the little boy. Just as she was falling asleep again, her eyes snapped open when she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist. It was obvious that the arm was not Ichirou's and that meant it had to be Sesshoumaru's. She wondered briefly if was aware of his actions before deciding that she didn't care. This was a rare moment and she was going to enjoy it to the fullest.

*-*-*-*-*

The next was a Sunday and the warm sunlight that drifted through the curtains woke the two children before the adults. Hana squirmed as she tried to get out from under Sesshoumaru's arm that lay across her. Beside her, Ichirou cracked and eye open and glared at her, silently telling her to be still before closing his eyes and snuggling closer to Rin. The woman in question sighed softly and pulled the boy closer as she shifted slightly in her sleep. Hana sighed as she looked at the peaceful pair and turned to glance over her shoulder at Sesshoumaru. She had to stifle a gasp when she found amber eyes looking back at her. A smile crossed her face and she was about open her mouth to say something for the first time Sesshoumaru shook his head and gestured for her to be quiet. Seeming to understand, Hana simply smiled again and shifted closer as she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

An hour later, Rin's eyes opened slowly and she smiled sleepily as she snuggled into the warmth that surrounded her. It took her a moment to realise that the little boy who had clung to her for most of the night was not present, but she knew he couldn't have gone far. Sighing softly, she pressed herself against her source of warmth and felt the arm around her tighten slightly before her eyes snapped open. Her vision was blurry but she could just make out the shape of a person lying beside her and that person obviously had silver hair. Her mind froze as she realised that she was pressed against Sesshoumaru's body and he had wrapped an arm around her as though trying to keep her there. Although it was not uncomfortable to be where she was, she decided it would probably be best to move in case there was awkwardness between them when he realised what had happened.

After managing to get herself out of bed without waking anyone up, Rin disappeared for a shower and then went in search of Ichirou. She found the little boy sitting in his bedroom surrounded by the toys he had brought with him. Noticing her presence, Ichirou turned around and smiled at her and gestured for her to sit next to him. Sitting beside the little boy, Rin smiled as she watched him return to the game he was playing.

"Did you sleep well last night?" she asked as she watched him play.

"Yeah!" Ichirou replied cheerfully. "Is Hana still asleep?"

"Both of them were asleep when I got up," Rin said with a smile as she remembered the pair who were still in bed. "Shall we make some breakfast?"

"Yeah!"

The pair wandered into the kitchen and started bustling about making pancakes after a long discussion about what to have. They were half way through making the meal when Sesshoumaru ambled into the kitchen with Hana in his arms and he came to a complete stop in the doorway as he watched the pair who laughed merrily in the kitchen. Ichirou sat on the counter with an empty bowl on his lap and was chatting cheerfully to Rin about something. Turning his amber gaze to Rin, Sesshoumaru smirked as he saw patches of white on her clothes where the pair had obviously had an accident with the flour. His snort of amusement caused the pair to look round in surprise.

"Sesshoumaru! You're up!" Rin exclaimed in surprise, pushing her glasses up with the back of her hand.

"How long have you two been awake?" he asked as he stepped into the room and moved over to the now messy counter near the cooker to see what the pair were making.

"I've not been awake long. Ichirou was awake when I got up," she said and smiled at the little boy, tapping his nose gently with a finger covered in the pancake batter.

"That's not fair!" Ichirou exclaimed indignantly and dipped his finger into the used bowl to get some batter to do the same to Rin.

Sesshoumaru watched in amusement and shook his head slightly. It certainly seemed that life was going to get very interesting from now on. Eventually, the pair stopped laughing and Rin turned around with a slight blush on her face. She now had a trail of batter on her cheek and still had flour all over her clothes.

"Well, breakfast's ready," she said sheepishly as she picked up to plates of pancakes and placed them on the table before turning to Sesshoumaru. "Do you want pancakes as well or something else?"

"I'll have whatever they leave," Sesshoumaru said gesturing to the children who were digging into their meals. "How did you manage to get so covered in flour?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Rin replied with a slight blush.

Her eyes widened as she felt gentle fingers wiping the batter off her face. Sesshoumaru shook his head and dusted the flour off her shirt as much as he could, inwardly smirking at the stunned expression on Rin's face. He had seen more emotion from her since the arrival of the two children than he had in the whole time he had spent together with her before the wedding. Initially, he had been unsure about taking in the children and wondered if it was the right choice, but now that he saw how happy Rin was he concluded that it was a good idea. Perhaps looking after her niece and nephew would help to heal the wounds of the past.

*-*-*-*-*

**AN:** I was going to put this chapter up last night, but it had lots of mistakes in it since I was quite tired when I wrote it. Hopefully I've corrected them, but apologies if there are some I missed. Thank you for all the reviews – they're greatly appreciated. They always make me smile so thank you so much for that :)

xMxAx


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter XIV**

Life carried on as normal after the wedding and the addition of the twins to Rin and Sesshoumaru's little family. The next week, Rin returned to her job at the university and Sesshoumaru returned to the restaurant while the twins spent the majority of their days at a pre-school. Sesshoumaru was pleased to find that he could continue his evening cookery classes at the university which seemed to fit in well with both of their schedules. He would collect the twins from the pre-school in the afternoon and take them with him to the university where they would spend the remainder of the afternoon with Rin before the little family would return home together that evening. Since Rin did not drive, it became habit for Sesshoumaru to take her to work after they had dropped the twins off at the pre-school and Rin found herself quite pleased with this routine. She and Sesshoumaru may not have married for love and the children were not their own, but the routines they now had made it seem as though they were a real family.

Rin sat in the café with Rika one afternoon as she waited for Sesshoumaru to arrive with the twins. It had been a long time since she had spent the afternoon with Rika and she was thoroughly enjoying the time she was spending with her friend now that she no longer had a busy schedule. Casting a glance around the café, she was pleased to see that some of the students present were some of her own and a few of them seemed to be working quite hard on their set tasks. She was mildly concerned about the fact that Kohaku sat in the corner of the café and had been eyeing her intently since her arrival half an hour previously, but she pushed her worries aside. If he was still bent on capturing her attention, Rin was almost certain that he wouldn't try anything in the café.

"Ah, the family's here," Rika commented with a smile as she looked at the door.

Turning in her seat slightly, Rin smiled as she saw Sesshoumaru push open the door and usher Ichirou through the door before closing it behind him. The little boy was saying something that she couldn't hear and was looking up at Sesshoumaru as though expecting a detailed response. Rin's smile grew slightly as she noticed the quiet man simply nod before adjusting the little girl in his arms.

"She's quite taken with him, isn't she?" Rika asked with a grin as she watched the trio slowly make their way across the room to them. "Do you ever get any time alone with him?"

"Of course I do," Rin said, her smile still in place as she realised what her friend was referring to.

Hana was clinging to Sesshoumaru's shirt in much the same way she had done when she had first met her new uncle and aunt, but she had relaxed a lot more. Still, Rin couldn't help but smile as she took in the sight of the stoic, expressionless man nodding absently to whatever Ichirou said while holding a little girl clad in bright pink clothes. Ichirou saw Rin and grinned as he ran towards her, his boots squelching loudly as he left a trail of muddy footprints on the white floor. Smiling at the little boy's enthusiasm, Rin bent down to pick him up when he was close enough.

"You're wet," Rin commented with a frown as Ichirou wrapped his arms around her neck to return her embrace.

"It's raining really hard!" he exclaimed with wide eyes as he pointed out the nearest window.

"You'll dry quickly in here," Rika said with a smile as she placed three mugs down on the counter in front of her.

While Ichirou filled Rika in on what had happened at school that day, Sesshoumaru sighed softly as he came to a stop beside Rin's chair. Hana smiled happily at Rin when she saw her. Making sure to keep up the appearance of a happy, loving couple, Sesshoumaru leaned down and pecked Rin on the cheek before handing the little girl in his arms over to her as he sat down heavily in the chair nearby. Hana was speaking quietly to Rin and Sesshoumaru took the chance to glance around the café to see if anyone who usually came to the cookery classes was present. Much to his surprise, Kohaku was sitting in the corner of the room with a couple of his friends and glaring at him ferociously. Memories of what had happened during the field trip came flooding to the forefront of Sesshoumaru's mind and he had trouble resisting the smirk that threatened to cross his lips.

"Your favourite student is giving me quite a ferocious glare," Sesshoumaru murmured in Rin's ear as she watched the twins talking happily with Rika.

"My favourite student?" Rin asked in confusion as she turned in her seat to look at him.

Sesshoumaru sat down in the seat beside Rin and subtly gestured towards the back of the room. Following his gaze, Rin smiled slightly as she realised he was referring to Kohaku.

"Ah yes, I saw him earlier," Rin said with a vague smile as she turned back to Sesshoumaru. "That is a ferocious glare. What have you done to deserve that?"

"He married you of course!" Rika interrupted with a grin. "He's frightfully jealous isn't he?"

"It seems that he has yet to forgive us for not informing him of our marriage," Sesshoumaru said with a smirk.

"Never mind," Rin murmured as she glanced down at Ichirou who was tugging her sleeve. "Perhaps he'll forgive us eventually."

"I don't really care if he ever forgives me if I'm completely honest," Sesshoumaru said as he leaned casually on the counter and gave Rin a smirk.

Shaking her head at her husband's nonchalant attitude, Rin turned her attention to Ichirou who cheerfully told her about his day at school while Hana clambered onto her lap and rested her head against Rin's shoulder. Rika smiled at the scene and glanced at Sesshoumaru from the corner of her eye and could've sworn she saw a tiny smile on his lips as he observed the trio that made up his family.

"So how're you adjusting to being an uncle?" she asked, leaning on the counter nearby and watching the twins.

"It didn't take as much time to get used to the idea as I thought," Sesshoumaru said quietly.

"Just wait until you become a father."

"That won't happen for some time yet."

"Can you be sure?" Rika asked with a suggestive wink. "Plans might change now that you're actually married."

"I doubt it."

Rika shook her head, her grin staying in place until her gaze fell on Kohaku who was getting to his feet. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watching him gather up the cups that littered the table top as though preparing to come up to the counter. His friends said something quietly to him before he nodded and stepped out from behind the table and came towards the counter where she stood.

"Look out," Rika murmured to Sesshoumaru before pushing herself upright. "Your friend is coming this way."

Glancing over his shoulder, Sesshoumaru saw Kohaku approaching with a slight smirk on his face and he had to resist the urge to palm his face. He hoped that he was simply coming for fresh cups of coffee and would leave it at that, but considering the rivalry they had established, Sesshoumaru doubted that it would be as simple as that. The smirk on the younger man's face clearly suggested trouble and Sesshoumaru had a suspicion that the man knew that this was not quite the loving relationship that it was meant to be, but quickly quelled the thought. There was no possibility that the man would know that.

Turning his amber gaze to Rin who sat within touching distance, Sesshoumaru was struck with a sudden idea. He would show Kohaku just what kind of man he was dealing with and how serious the relationship between him and Rin was even if it meant bending the truth a little. Turning in his seat to face Rin, Sesshoumaru leaned towards her and slipped an arm around her waist as he looked over her shoulder at Hana who was seated comfortably on Rin's lap. Rin glanced up and sent him a questioning look before turning when she felt a presence beside her. A slight shiver raced down her spine when she saw Kohaku standing beside her and conversing happily with Rika as he waited for her to refill the coffee cups.

"A family is a wondrous thing, isn't it?" Kohaku observed with a vague smile as he glanced down casually at the family beside him.

"It is!" Rika said excitedly, trying to divert the man's attention from the couple.

"To have children of such an age, you two must've been together for quite some time," Kohaku said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the twins and completely ignored Rika.

Rin smiled and shook her head. "These are my niece and nephew. They're living with us."

"You're right though," Sesshoumaru murmured as joined the conversation. "We have been together for quite some time."

"And will be together for a lot longer," Rin said quietly, falling into her role as she turned to look lovingly at her husband.

Kohaku's eyes narrowed further as he watched the loving display and resisted the urge to push the pair apart. It was sickening to think that Rin was in a relationship like that with such a man. Sesshoumaru was not the man she should be with and Kohaku was going to prove that. He simply had to come up with a foolproof plan. Turning his attention back to the pair in question, his jaw almost dropped when he saw Rin lean towards the stoic man and press her lips gently against his for a moment before pulling away with a slight blush staining her cheeks.

"I think you've lost, hun," Rika said quietly as she too watched the couple. "She only has eyes for him."

*-*-*-*-*

Rin didn't see Kohaku for quite some time after that and heard nothing about him from either other students or her co workers. It was only when she and Sesshoumaru were spending the afternoon with Kagome and Inuyasha that the other man came up in conversation. Everyone had been fawning over the twins before Inuyasha had looked seriously at Rin and frowned.

"Is something wrong, Inuyasha?" Rin asked, fixing a smile to her face as she pushed her glasses up.

"I was speaking to Miroku the other day," Inuyasha said slowly, glancing down at Kagome who looked at him curiously. "I didn't realise that you knew Sango's brother."

"Sango's brother?" Rin asked in confusion. "I didn't know she had one."

"You didn't know? Well, he's staying with Miroku and Sango for a while until he finds a new apartment."

"What does this have to do with Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked lazily, turning his gaze to his brother from the twins who he had been watching intently.

"It seems that Kohaku is quite taken with you," Inuyasha said with a shrug.

"Kohaku?" Rin asked in surprise. "I know who you're talking about and I'm already aware of his attentions."

"Are you?" Kagome asked in surprise. "Is he nice?"

"He's an annoying little runt," Sesshoumaru muttered, frowning slightly at the mention of the troublesome younger man.

"You know him too, Sesh?"

"Both of us know him and of his affections for Rin," the elder brother replied with a shrug. "He seems to be quite eager to see this marriage fail."

"Indeed," Rin agreed quietly. "He also seems to have quite a problem with Sesshoumaru for some reason."

The four friends sat in silence for a while and Rin looked thoughtful as she tried to come to a conclusion as to why Kohaku disliked Sesshoumaru so much. After while, Inuyasha shook his head and smirked while Kagome giggled quietly before turning her attention to the other pair.

"Do you really not know the reason, Rin?" Kagome asked with a grin.

"No, I don't. Please enlighten me if you know the reason," Rin replied with genuine interest.

"You're slower than I thought. Kohaku doesn't like Sesshoumaru because he's the one who married you. It's the same as if I would have married Kouga instead of Inuyasha. It's obvious that Inuyasha would have a problem with Kouga."

"I believe Rika mentioned something about that the other day," Sesshoumaru murmured thoughtfully.

"Well you should listen to her," Kagome instructed with a smile. "She obviously knows what she's talking about."

"I suggest you be careful of him though," Inuyasha advised with a frown. "Miroku seems to think he might be planning something."

Hours later, Rin sat quietly in the living room after putting the twins to bed and gazed out the window across the dark garden with a slight frown. She had hoped that Kohaku would simply leave them be now that he knew the situation, but it seemed that she was wrong. The thought of someone who had been one of her nicest students being so vindictive did not sit well with her, but she knew that there was little she could do about it save divorcing Sesshoumaru and agreeing to a relationship with Kohaku.

The soft sound of tapping caused her to turn around and she looked down the passage to the study where Sesshoumaru sat at his desk, typing up the new menus for the next day. The living room was dimly lit and Rin knew that even though he was facing her direction, Sesshoumaru would not see her in the dim room. Sighing to herself, she leaned against the wall beside her and carefully scrutinised the man she had married. He was the type of man most women would dream of marrying and she was no exception. Sesshoumaru was obviously strong and he was also surprisingly attentive to those he deemed worthy of his attentions, but Rin imagined that the only thing that would probably be negative about him would be his silent nature. She didn't mind the fact that he didn't speak much or the fact that he did not expression his emotions much, but she supposed she was used to it now. After all, she had known him for so long that it didn't seem out of the ordinary to her anymore. In fact, she would even go so far as to say that he had become slightly more talkative over the past few weeks which had come as a great surprise to her, but not an unwelcome one.

A smile tilted her lips as she watched him lean back in his seat and slip the menus into a folder ready to be used the next day. Somewhere along the line, she had come to care for him just a bit more than she thought she ever would. Perhaps it was because they had both grown up a lot since they had last seen each other? Whatever had caused her to like him just that little bit more, Rin knew that it was a good thing. Even if this marriage was a farce as far as loving relationships went, the whole experience would be a lot more enjoyable if they were friends and she could already tell that they were slowly progressing towards viewing each other as friends.

Before she could pursue that thought any further, Rin found herself staring directly into Sesshoumaru's amber eyes as he looked at her from the study before rising to his feet. Slowly, he made his way down the corridor and paused only to place the folder near his jacket. With some difficulty, Rin tore her gaze away from his and turned around to face the garden again as she tried to will her racing heart to calm down. His gaze was rather intense and it always overwhelmed her slightly when it was trained only on her.

"I thought you would have gone to bed," Sesshoumaru said quietly, stopping beside her and looking out the window like she did.

"I was going to," Rin admitted and smiled vaguely at him. "But my thoughts distracted me."

"What were you thinking about?"

Rin paused for a moment. She couldn't tell him that she had just been thinking that he was a rather fine male and that being friends with him would make her happy. It also occurred to her that she couldn't tell him that his intense gaze make her heart race and her breathing quicken slightly. He would probably think her mad if she decided to inform him of all that. Instead, she took a deep breath and looked at him seriously, not surprised to find him looking down at her.

"You don't suppose Kohaku will do anything, do you?" she asked seriously, voicing the thought that had led her to admiring the man beside her.

"It's likely that he will," Sesshoumaru said in an equally serious voice. "He seems to be quite persistent, but fortunately, he doesn't seem to possess much common sense."

"That's a good thing?" Rin asked in confusion.

"Indeed. If he had any common sense then he would have realised by now that you want no relationship with him other than that of a teacher and a student. He probably will attempt to execute a poorly conceived plan and no doubt, it will end badly. If it causes any trouble, it will be simple to get a restraining order against him or something to that effect."

"Isn't that going a little too far though?"

Sesshoumaru glanced down at Rin from the corner of his eye and saw the concerned look in her eyes. "I would prefer it not to go so far, but if he persists then it might be the only option available to us unless you want a halfwit chasing after you for the rest of your life?"

"No, I don't, but I hope it doesn't go that far."

The pair stood in silence for a short while, each lost in their own thoughts as they gazed out the window with blank expressions. As he stared at the dark shapes of the trees and shrubbery in the garden, Sesshoumaru dwelled on Rin's words. He was touched by how caring she was even about those causing her inconvenience, but he wondered how long she could remain sympathetic towards Kohaku if he continued down this route. Beside him, Rin sighed softly and pushed her glasses up to rub her eyes wearily. Watching her from the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru silently made a decision as he stood there beside her. She had given up her chances of finding a man who loved her to marry him and he knew that he couldn't do anything for her that would come anywhere close to matching what she had done for him. He was loath to admit it, but he owed her a great deal. For some reason he couldn't begin to understand, it irked him to see her worried about such a troublesome man and what he might do. Considering what she had given up in order to marry him just so that he might have a secure future, Sesshoumaru knew that the very least he could do for her was to see that she was happy and even if he didn't care for her as a husband should, he would still make sure that she was happy with her life.

Rin's glasses dropped back into place as she felt Sesshoumaru shift beside her and she looked at him curiously when she heard him mutter something about it being late. She just managed to catch a glance of the time before she felt an arm drape around her shoulders and steer her down the corridor towards the bedroom. A smile curved her lips as she allowed herself to be guided towards her bed and she couldn't help but think that she had somehow managed to get a little closer to the stoic man beside her. She may be wrong, but something insider her told that probably wasn't. Whatever it was that she had done, she was glad she did it.

*-*-*-*-*

**AN:** I've been writing this chapter for the last few days and it's not really turned out the way I wanted it to, but never mind. I get distracted too easily and this is the result. I'll try to produce something better in the next chapter :P

Also, thank you for the reviews! They're greatly appreciated as always :)

xMxAx


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter XV**

It had been the first night since the twins' arrival at the house that Rin and Sesshoumaru did not have to share their bed with the two children. Neither of them minded sharing it with the children, but they both agreed on more than one occasion that it was time the children started sleeping in their own beds. Every night so far, the twins had obediently been put to bed in their shared room and only a short while after the two adults had retired for the evening, a knock at the door would make them both smile before two bodies made themselves comfortable between them.

The sunlight was creeping under the curtains and slowly making its way towards the bed when Sesshoumaru sighed and opened his eyes slowly. For a moment, he could see nothing in the dim room and when his eyes had eventually adjusted to the lack of light, a dark blur just beside his head. Turning on his side to identify it, he smirked to himself when he realised that it was Rin's hair. Propping himself up on his pillows, he glanced at the clock nearby and noted that it was too early to get up before turning his attention back down to the woman who was sleeping peacefully beside him. Rin lay on her side facing him, her long dark hair splayed out around her and it occurred to Sesshoumaru that it was the first time he had seen how long it was. His smirk grew he realised that it was about the same length as his own. Reaching out, he took a long strand of her hair between his fingers and marvelled at how soft it was. Evidently she took good care of her hair, he mused. Amber eyes snapped up when Rin shifted slightly and sighed as she rolled onto her back.

As his gaze roamed over her, Sesshoumaru concluded that he would have laughed if anyone had told him before he moved back to the country that he would end up married. He would have laughed even harder if anyone had told him that he would be married to his brother's childhood friend. Looking at her intently, Sesshoumaru was briefly stunned by her innocent beauty. She was really quite stunning when she wasn't hiding behind her glasses and he found his gaze drawn down to her plump lips as they curved into an enticing smile. He already knew that those lips were as soft as they looked and he already knew that her skin was as soft a satin. Shaking his head slightly, he tore his gaze away from her to the window where the sunlight was struggling to get past the curtains. Just before getting out of bed, he glanced down at the sleeping woman once more and wondered briefly if they would ever be more than just acquaintances pretending to have a happy marriage.

*-*-*-*-*

As she went about her usual duties at work later that day, Rin had no idea she had been under such close scrutiny that morning. Everyone marvelled at the subtle change in her since her marriage. Her smiles were more genuine than they had ever been and there was a spring in her step as she walked from her office to her classes. She had to admit that she felt a lot happier now than she had done for quite some time and she knew that she owed a great deal to Sesshoumaru. If it wasn't for him agreeing to take the twins in, she doubted the beginning to their marriage would have been so good. She concluded that he was not quite as cold hearted as Inuyasha always claimed he was and was quite pleased to have made such a discovery. There was very little she could do for him in return for making her so happy, but eventually she would find something to make him just as happy as she was. Until that time, she would just have to hope nothing came along to ruin her happiness.

Several days passed quickly and Rin found herself standing at the front of a classroom arranging her books as her students walked past her and filed out the door. She smiled and waved at those that called to her and helped others who came to her as best she could, but by the end of it all, she was glad to be alone in the room. The silence was welcome after a very loud lesson. Sighing softly, she sank down into a chair and pushed her glasses up as she reached for a book. Fortunately, her next class was in the same room so she didn't have to go far and she had only about a quarter of an hour to wait until the students arrived. That would give her more than enough time to prepare for the lesson and more than enough time to relax a little bit.

The lesson came and went quite quickly and she was immensely pleased with the way it had gone as she made her way back to her office. She was just crossing the courtyard when she heard someone call her name. A tiny frown creased her brow when she saw Kohaku striding towards her and she mentally berated herself for not simply turning around and walking away. He grinned at her when he stopped beside her, but the grin sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine. She enjoyed talking to Kohaku a lot less now, but as his teacher, she couldn't afford to let him know that. Fixing an smile that she hoped didn't show how uneasy she was to her face, Rin turned to face him.

"Is there something you needed?" she asked cautiously, silently praying he would say no and go away.

"I've been thinking and I wanted to talk to you," Kohaku said slowly, his grin fading as he looked thoughtful.

"I see."

"I was just thinking that it's a shame that you're married to such an emotionless man. It really is quite sad."

"I beg your pardon?" Rin exclaimed in surprise.

"You should be with someone who will cherish you and I think you married the wrong man," Kohaku said with a shrug as though that was the most obvious thing in the world.

Rin paused before replying. Closing her eyes briefly, she pushed her glasses up and then fixing the man with a serious look. She had always known that the two men did not see eye to eye, but it came as a big surprise for Kohaku to launch a verbal attack against a man who was not present to defend himself and Rin didn't think that was fair.

"Well I'm so sorry I didn't consult you before deciding to marry him, O Wise One," she said sarcastically before she could stop herself. She sighed and tried to go back to her professional persona that she had so far managed to keep with this man. "It makes little difference to me if you think I married the wrong man. I know that I didn't, therefore there is no need for us to have this conversation."

"I bet you're really regretting your decision, aren't you?" Kohaku asked slyly.

"I'm not regretting anything," Rin said firmly. "There is no reason why I should explain any of this to you. My private life has nothing to do with students."

"Perhaps not, but wouldn't you like it a lot more if we were more than just student and teacher?" the man asked with a grin.

Rin could only gape at the man in surprise as she tried to form a response. She definitely didn't want anything to do with this man. Just being near him sent shivers down her spine and her nerves were on edge. He was either very lacking in the common sense department just as Sesshoumaru said or he was far too determined for his own good. Rin wasn't sure which was worse. Just as she was about to speak, someone else called her name and she cringed inwardly, hoping it was someone coming to her rescue and not to make the situation worse. Turning towards the voice, her eyes widened when she saw Miroku striding towards her. Her friend came to a stop beside her and looked quite serious as he looked at her for a moment, completely ignoring his girlfriend's brother who stood nearby.

"Is something the matter?" Rin asked with a frown. Miroku was rarely serious about anything and when he was, it was never a good thing.

"Inuyasha asked me to come and fetch you," Miroku said, his gaze turning to the younger man beside him.

"Inuyasha did? Why?"

"He didn't give me the details. Apparently there was an accident at the restaurant."

"It's not serious, is it?"

"I'm not sure. He just said that you should be there."

"Be where?"

"At the restaurant."

Paling slightly as she thought of all the things that could have gone wrong in that restaurant, Rin shuddered slightly. Forcing herself to be calm, she pushed her glasses up and then handed her books to Kohaku, asking him politely to put them in her office and ignoring the furious look on his face as he glared at Miroku. Rin slipped her arm through Miroku's and pulled him away along the path towards the main exit.

"We need to fetch the twins before we go to the restaurant. Sesshoumaru was supposed to fetch them a bit later and if something's wrong, it'll be easier if we get them now," Rin said quietly as she slowed her steps and relaxed slightly beside her friend.

"Is he bothering you?" Miroku asked, his voice unusually hard as he cast a glance over his shoulder at Kohaku who still stood in place with a livid expression.

"Who?"

"Kohaku."

Oh, no. It's nothing I can't deal with," Rin said with a smile that hid her unease about the situation.

*-*-*-*-*

A short while later, Rin arrived at the restaurant and paused briefly, looking carefully at its exterior as though it could give her some clue as to what happened. Finding no clue, she reached down to pick up Hana before heading inside. Ichirou clutched her hand tightly as they walked through the crowds of people inside and Rin could only squeeze his hand reassuringly as they passed various members of staff she knew. A few saw her and nodded a greeting, but most were looking shell-shocked and had various injuries being tended to. The unease within Rin began to grow as she saw a tall man with silver hair sitting a short distance away with people crowded around him. Pushing her way through the people, she gasped and came to a stop as she looked at her husband. He was frighteningly pale and cuts covered his arms and part of his exposed torso, but he argued heatedly with one of the police officers nearby. Rin noted that there was a rather large burn on his arm that needed to be seen to, but considering how much he was arguing, she doubted it would be seen to any time soon.

Worry coursed through her as she looked at him and his own disregard for his injuries angered her slightly before she quelled the anger and let worry take its place again. Miroku stood beside her and frown as he looked at Sesshoumaru, but he chose to say nothing. Eventually, Sesshoumaru frowned and looked away from the police officer he was arguing with long enough to notice Rin standing nearby. Knowing he had seen her, Rin couldn't hold her worry back any longer, she handed Hana to Miroku and pushed through the crowd of police officers and a couple of medics. Amber eyes widened as she threw her arms around him when she was close enough, but after the moment of shock had passed, he wrapped his arms around her waist and glared at the police officers over her shoulder.

"We will resume this discussion later," the police officer nearby said in a bored tone before walking away, his subordinates following.

"What happened?" Rin asked, her voice breaking slightly midsentence.

"Minor explosion," Sesshoumaru said vaguely, shrugging as he spoke as though it was nothing serious.

"Minor explosion?!" Rin echoed as she stepped back and looked at him with panic in her eyes.

"It's nothing serious. No one was seriously injured."

"What caused it?"

"Someone must've left the gas on by mistake."

Rin shuddered knowing how flammable gas was before turning to look at Sesshoumaru again. "Is everyone alright?"

"Everyone's fine. Only minor injuries."

Miroku stepped forward at that pointed and handed Hana back to Rin while Ichirou continued to clutch his hand as though his life depended on a connection with someone he knew. Neither of the twins understood what was going on, but while Ichirou was trying to look brave, fear and uncertainty lurked in his eyes as he looked at the trio of adults he knew. Hana buried her face in Rin's shoulder, crying quietly even though she didn't understand what was going on.

"If your injuries aren't serious, perhaps you should just go home?" Miroku suggested, gesturing to the two children as he spoke.

"You're right," Sesshoumaru agreed quietly, once more glaring at a nearby police officer.

"I'll drop you two off at home."

A short while later, Sesshoumaru, Rin and the twins were walking into their home in subdued silence. Hana's tears had subsided but she still clung to Rin as though expecting her to disappear. Ichirou seemed a bit happier now that they were home and informed his aunt and uncle that he was going to play. Rin could only shake her head at him as he disappeared and wished that she could simply push away an unpleasant incident because she didn't like it. Hana was reluctant to be put down, but after much coaxing from her brother, she too disappeared to play. Sighing to herself, Rin turned to look at the silent man beside her and put her hands on her hips as she tried to look serious.

"You need to sit down," she instructed quietly as she pointed to the sofa nearby. "I can't tend to your injuries if I can't reach the majority of them."

While Rin disappeared to fetch something to cleanse the injuries with, Sesshoumaru smirked as he sat down on the sofa. It had been an enormous surprise when Rin had wrapped her arms around him at the restaurant, but he suspected that it was not purely for show as he had first thought. She seemed genuinely upset and he was quite touched by the fact that she was concerned for him. When she returned, she didn't say anything as she set about tending to the minor injuries he had gotten, but it was obvious that she was still upset about the incident. Once the cuts had been cleaned, she pulled out a tube out of her bag nearby just as she had done the time she had tended to a minor burn on his arm a while back.

"Anything other burns?" Rin asked quietly as she gently rubbed the gel over the burn on his arm.

"No serious ones," Sesshoumaru replied, watching her fingers as they moved over his skin.

"That's not what I asked," she said with a vague smile as she looked up at him. "If you don't tell me, I'll have to look for them."

Sesshoumaru smirked at that statement and pushed his shirt off his shoulders, revealing a patch of skin near his shoulder that had been stinging slightly since the incident. Without uttering a word, Rin gently applied the gel to the skin and sighed softly to herself. When she was finished, she leaned forward and rested her forehead against his chest and closed her eyes as relief finally washed over her. Surprised by her actions, Sesshoumaru stiffened slightly and looked down at her silently, hoping she'd say something soon.

"I was so worried," Rin said quietly after a short silence.

Her words sounded loud in the silent room and for a moment, Sesshoumaru wasn't sure how to react. He had never been put into a situation where a woman other than those related to him were concerned about his wellbeing. It was a new experience and he had no idea what to do. Instinctively he had stiffened at the contact, having never been on the receiving end of physical contact that did not involve spending a night tangled in bed sheets, but even he was not oblivious to the fact that Rin had indeed been worried and quite upset by the whole incident. Taking a chance and hoping he was doing the right thing, he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. Much to his surprise, she didn't pull away and simply leaned into him as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.

Sesshoumaru had just come to the conclusion that this kind of physical contact was quite nice when Rin sat back suddenly. Almost immediately, he missed the feel of her body against his but dismissed the thought quickly. Rin was blushing furiously and attempting to look serious despite the fact that she looked much like a tomato with glasses at the moment. Having realised what she had just done, Rin wanted the ground to open up and swallow her where she sat. She had been worried about him and was upset that such a thing had happened, but that did not mean she had any business wrapping her arms around him and leaning into his embrace as though she belonged there. Belatedly, she realised that she was just finding excuses not to admit that she had actually rather enjoyed that contact and almost sighed at the revelation. Catching herself before she did so, she pasted a smile to her face and hurriedly got to her feet to collect the lotions and bandages that were scattered across the table.

"Well, you'll live," she said in an overly cheerful voice for her. "There's nothing life threatening about those injuries!"

Raising an eyebrow at her behaviour, Sesshoumaru said nothing as he watched her hastily pack away the first aid kit she had brought out. Her blush had subsided slightly, but there was still a pink tint to her cheeks. A smirk curved his lips as he realised that she was embarrassed over her behaviour although he could not think why she would be. Something between them had changed when she had wrapped her arms around him and he had returned the gesture. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew that he was going to pursue it. Rin's reaction to the physical contact was quite amusing and very endearing and it made him want to see this reaction again. A devious plan began to form in his mind as he watched her start towards the door and he paused his plotting for a moment when she stopped and glanced over her shoulder with a serious look before uttering words that temporarily left him speechless.

"I was so scared something had happened to you," she said quietly, her eyes serious as she looked at him before glancing down at the first aid kit in her hands. "Don't make me worry like that."

*-*-*-*-*

**AN:** I'm a bit happier about this chapter :) I pulled random thoughts off the top of my head with this one and I'm glad it ended in something relatively decent – although that is a matter of opinion.

Anyhoo… This story is going to be quite a lot longer than intended so I hope that's not off-putting in any way. I had thought I would be at least a little more than halfway through by now, but I keep getting more ideas for different chapters so I'll see how it goes :)

Thank you for all the reviews - they're greatly appreciated! Hopefully the distractions will stay away long enough for me to get another couple of chapter done in the next few days! :)

xMxAx


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter XVI**

Life continued peacefully after the incident at the restaurant much to Rin's relief. There had been no more explosions and the damage that had been caused was repaired easily. Soon, everything was back to normal. Rin was thankful that Kohaku had not come anywhere near her since the day of the incident and she prayed that he would stay away from her, but she doubted that he would. The man was as thick as two short planks. Unbeknownst to both Rin and Sesshoumaru, their quite life was soon change and it all started with a simple phone call from Inutaisho.

"Anniversary party?" Rin asked, looking up from the food she was serving the twins.

"Indeed. Tomorrow evening."

"That's a bit short notice, isn't it? Where will we find a babysitter for the twins?"

"They can come with us," Sesshoumaru explained. "We will be staying the night there so it's more practical for them to come with us."

"Spending the night?" Rin asked in surprise as she sat down. "Why?"  
"It's what usually happens at these events."

"I see. That's alright then, I suppose."

The very next day, Rin found herself preparing for an evening pretending to be a loving wife. She adored Inutaisho and Izayoi, but she wished she didn't have to attend now that she realised that she was actually quite nervous. She had packed a small overnight bag for the children and prayed that they would be on their best behaviour that night. Glancing in the mirror for the final time, she smoothed down her white dress and smiled at her reflection. After spending quite some time observing her husband, Rin had discovered what colours he favoured and had made sure to find a dress that he would approve of even though she suspected he wouldn't tell her if he approved of it or not. Her white halter neck dress fitted her snugly and showed off the hourglass figure she usually hid. The hem was embroidered with big bright purple and yellow flowers on a green stem that trailed up the side of her dress gradually growing small they further up they got. Rin was immensely pleased with her dress choice and had even found a yellow flower to sit in the elegant chignon she had secured her long hair into.

Sesshoumaru was patiently waiting for Rin to appear and was listening to the twins excitedly talking about the evening ahead. Eventually, he heard the sound of heels clicking on the tiled floor and looked up to see Rin standing in the doorway with a smile as she put down the children's overnight bag. His breath caught in his throat as he watched her walk further into the room and sit down beside him on the sofa as the twins vied for her attention. She looked stunning and he noted that the colours on her dress were all colours that he wore on a regular basis in one way or another. He raised an eyebrow at that, realising Rin was quite observant. Her glasses were gone and he was once against stunned by how beautiful she was when they weren't hiding her face. Watching as she bent forward to secure the ribbon in Hana's hair, Sesshoumaru noted that the dress was also rather low cut and decided that he was going to have to keep an eye on her tonight. The last thing he needed was for his wife to become the centre of attention among all the men who were bound to be present and that wasn't because he wanted her attention all for himself. Of course not. Sesshoumaru Taisho did not get jealous and he more certainly was not possessive over the woman who was now a permanent fixture in his life. Definitely not.

He was still trying to convince himself that he was not jealous or possessive when they arrived at Inutaisho and Izayoi's home a short while later. Sesshoumaru watched as the children were showered with hugs and kisses from the family and friends they knew and had to hold back a growl of irritation as he watched Rin greet everyone and returned their hugs. His blood began to boil when he saw Inuyasha wrap his arms around her exuberantly and give her a bone crushing hug that left her breathless. It as in that moment that he gave up the argument he had been having with himself because it was now obvious to him that he had been denying the obvious. Inuyasha seemed to sense his brother's irritation and grinned fiendishly at him before leaning in to peck Rin on the cheek before wrapping his arm around Kagome and disappearing into the main room where some guests had gathered.

"Are there going to be many people here tonight?" Rin asked quietly as he fell into step beside her.

"Probably. There usually are."

Rin paused for a moment on the room's threshold and looked around in amazement. She had been to parties and events hosted by the Taisho family before, but for some reason it felt different tonight. A strong arm wrapped around her waist causing her to look up at Sesshoumaru questioningly before smiling happily as they walked into the room. They had been in the room no longer than a few minutes when they found themselves engaged in conversation with Inutaisho and Izayoi only for an elderly couple to join the conversation a short while later. Rin watched the older people interact and couldn't help but smile. They were obviously well into their seventies, but still very much in love. It was an endearing sight. After a while, the woman, who Rin now knew was called Hisako, turned to look at the youngest of the three couples and smiled cheerfully.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, Sesshoumaru dear," she exclaimed. "I heard that you had gone abroad to study?"

"Yes, that's true," Sesshoumaru said politely. "I returned a few months ago."

"Where have you been, dear?"

"I have been busy. There have been many things that required my attention."

"Indeed," Hisako's husband, Taro, said with a grin as he looked at Rin. "Might this lovely lady be included in that list?"

Blushing scarlet at the compliment, Rin managed a timid smile as the other two couples laughed merrily at her expression while Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on her waist slightly as though encouraging her to engage in the conversation. Inutaisho chose that moment to jump into the conversation as well as he grinned and patted Rin's shoulder gently.

"She is indeed part of that list!" he said, his grin widening even more. "She's my other daughter-in-law!"

"Daughter-in-law?" Hisako echoed in surprise before smiling happily at Rin. "Well, that is a surprise."

"He's certainly a lucky man," Taro said with a laugh and winked at Sesshoumaru who merely nodded.

"It was only a matter of time before Rin became part of the family," Izayoi said with a fond smile at the still speechless younger woman.

"Childhood sweethearts?" Hisako asked with a gentle smile.

"Something like that," Inutaisho murmured, his grin still in place.

After excusing themselves, Sesshoumaru decided that they had done enough talking and made a beeline for the dance floor where he knew no one would attempt conversation with him. Rin followed quietly, her breath hitching in her throat as she found herself held against Sesshoumaru's broad chest. She stared at vague patterns on his tie for a while before looking up at him, slightly surprised when she found his amber gaze fixed on her.

"They're such a nice couple," she said quietly, blushing slightly and lowering her gaze to his tie again.

"Indeed. They have been our neighbours for many years," Sesshoumaru murmured, pulling her closer.

They danced for a short while and Sesshoumaru bit back another growl of irritation when the music paused only to start again moments later. He wasn't sure why, but he wasn't in any hurry to go of Rin. There were may men present and he had seen the way some of them had looked at her when they arrived and it made his blood boil. At least now, when they were dancing, he had all her attention. Glancing down at her, he mused that she seemed to be quite content with where she was if her smile was anything to go by. Emboldened by that thought, Sesshoumaru pulled her closer still and wrapped his arm around her waist tightly. Rin sighed contently and rested her head on her husband's shoulder, for once not thinking about this as a marriage of convenience.

"Well, well," a feminine voice said with hints of amusement. "If it isn't Sesshoumaru. I've not seen you in a few months."

The pair stopped and looked up to find a dark haired woman standing nearby, her hand on her hip and a coy smile curving her lips. She approached them, her hips swaying enticingly as she moved, and came to a stop just beside them. Rin glanced up at Sesshoumaru, hoping to find some clue as to who this woman was, but she found nothing. He had stiffened as though he wanted nothing to do with her, but she gave no indication of leaving.

"It was quite cruel of you to just up and leave without telling me," she drawled, making a show of looking him up and down as she stood before him.

"I don't believe I was ever required to inform you of my travel plans," Sesshoumaru deadpanned, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The woman shrugged and looked at Rin in a condescending manner before smirking. "Be a good little girl and fetch us a drink, would you? This conversation has nothing to do with you."

Not entirely sure what to do in this kind of situation, Rin was about to turn on her heel to leave the pair alone. She had no intention of acting as a waitress for this woman, but it certainly seemed that there were matters between them that needed to be discussed. Her gaze lifted to look at Sesshoumaru when he refused to let go of her and tightened his grip instead.

"Well?" the woman said in an impatient tone. "Off you go. Why would Sesshoumaru need you when he now has me?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Sesshoumaru warned in a quiet tone as he pulled Rin into his side.

"Get ahead of myself?" she echoed incredulously. "Isn't this what normally happens? You always used to find someone to occupy you while I was away. Now I'm here, you don't need her anymore."

"That may have been the case in the past," Sesshoumaru said quietly. "However, it is no longer so."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, Kikyo!" Inutaisho interrupted before his son could reply. "I see you found Sesshoumaru."

"Indeed," she said, turning to glare at the man in question.

"You've been introduced to Rin already, I assume? Having two new members in the family is very exciting, you know!" Inutaisho babbled, grinning at Rin who paled slightly as she saw Kikyo's face contort with anger.

"New members in the family?" Kikyo asked in a voice that barely hid her anger.

"Of course, dear," Izayoi said with a smile. "Didn't you know? Kagome married Inuyasha about four months ago. Then, about a month later, Sesshoumaru and Rin got married. So much excitement in such a short space of time!"

Kikyo's face paled as she looked at the couple. "You got married?"

"I did," Sesshoumaru replied.

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"It's none of your business."

"Isn't that what you told me, Rin?" a familiar male voice queried.

The small group turned around to find Kohaku standing in the doorway, casually leaning against the doorframe. Inuyasha and Kagome approached the group to see what was going on and Inuyasha eyed his friend's brother suspiciously. Rin sighed and almost rolled her eyes at the man's sudden appearance.

"I did say that," Rin confirmed, speaking for the first time since Kikyo's arrival. "You are my student. It's none of your business what I do in my personal life. It would be highly unprofessional of me to discuss my private life with you."

"You didn't tell me either!" Kikyo exclaimed, pointing her finger accusingly at Sesshoumaru.

"It's just as Rin says," Sesshoumaru said quietly. "It's no one's business but my own who I marry."

There was no comment as Kikyo's face contorted once again as her anger grew and Kohaku uncrossed his arms as he pushed himself upright and walked towards the group. Rin eyed him suspiciously as he drew closer and was slightly surprised when she found Sesshoumaru stepping in front of her as though to hide her from the other man's view.

"If it wasn't for you," Kohaku said in a dangerously voice as he glared at Sesshoumaru. "If it wasn't for you, Rin would be mine."

"Rin is not a possession to be owned," Sesshoumaru muttered darkly, showing more expression in one sentence than he had the whole evening.

"She would be mine!" Kohaku repeated, his voice rising.

"If she is anyone's, she is mine," Sesshoumaru stated, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the younger man.

Rin stared at her husband's back in surprise. She hadn't expected him to ever say such a thing and the possessive undertones of that statement stunned her but pleased her at the same time for some inexplicable reason. However, Kohaku was enraged by the other man's statement and took a step towards him, swinging his fist towards Sesshoumaru's face. The blow took Sesshoumaru by surprise and he stumbled slightly which worked to the younger man's advantage. Quickly, Kohaku took advantage of the situation and punched him in the stomach before landing a blow on his cheek while Sesshoumaru struggled to catch his breath and regain his composure. A shriek of surprise and dismay left Rin's lips as Sesshoumaru tumbled to the floor before losing consciousness as his head hit the floor with a sickening thump while everyone looked on with varying states of surprise and anger. Without waiting any longer, Kohaku glared once more at the fallen man before turning on his heel and leaving the building rapidly while Rin knelt beside her fallen husband with tears building in her eyes.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter XVII**

Most of the guests by now had been watching the scene unfold with great interest and there were several gasps of shock when Sesshoumaru fell to the floor. Hastily, Inutaisho and Inuyasha tried to disperse the gathering crowd but with little success. Kikyo scoffed as she looked down at the fallen man and his wife kneeling beside him before turning on her heel and leaving the room and all its occupants. Being on of the few people with enough knowledge of first aid and the least upset, Izayoi examined her stepson's head briefly before requesting that Kagome call the family doctor for a second opinion. Sitting back on her heels, Izayoi looked at Rin and tried to smile reassuringly.

"It's just a bump, dear," she said calmly. "We should get him up to the room so that the doctor can have a look somewhere a little less public."

Nodding dumbly, Rin got to her feet and watched as Inutaisho and Inuyasha hoisted the unconscious man up and started towards the stairs. As she followed the trio, Rin was almost overcome with guilt over Sesshoumaru's injury. She was clearly the cause of it and she couldn't remember feeling so guilty over anything before. The two men laid their son and brother on the small sofa in the bedroom they were staying in after noting that the bed had been taken by the sleeping twins. Sensing that it would probably not be a good idea to crowd the couple, Inuyasha and Inutaisho hastily left the room, promising to return when the doctor arrived.

Sighing as the door closed behind the two males, Rin looked over at the prone man on the sofa and felt a wave of guilt rush over her again. Not pausing to think over her actions, she walked over to him and lifted his head gently as she sat beside him so that his head rested on her lap before giving in to the sobs that she had been withholding since the incident. Silently, she let her tears run down her face as she gazed down at Sesshoumaru and was startled slightly when she heard movement.

"Aunt Rin?" Ichirou's voice called sleepily.

"Yes?" Rin tried to respond with her usual enthusiasm.

"Is the party over?"

"Yes, dear. It's just finished."

"Will you be coming to bed soon?"

"Not just yet. Your uncle… uh… fell asleep on the sofa. We'll come to bed when he wakes up."

"Oh, okay," Ichirou sounded confused, but didn't push the subject.

"Go back to sleep, dear," Rin instructed gently, smiling at the little boy through the darkness.

She was relieved when Ichirou simply nodded and lay down beside his sister again. Moments later the door opened and a doctor was ushered quietly into the room to examine the elder Taisho son. Rin held her breath as she waited to hear what the man had to say and relief washed over her when the doctor stood up and smiled cheerfully at her and the rest of the family.

"It's nothing serious," he said and grinned at Izayoi. "It's just as you said. A simple bump to the head is all."

"He's not moved at all," Inuyasha commented with a frown.

"He'll be fine," the doctor confirmed. "He'll be up and about as usual tomorrow."

Everyone thanked the doctor gratefully and soon Rin found herself alone with her unconscious husband again. She still felt guilty, but she felt better now that she knew the injury was not serious. Sighing softly, she leaned back against the sofa and gently brushed back Sesshoumaru's silver bangs as she admired his calm expression once more before her eyes drooped closed.

*-*-*-*-*

It was very early the next morning when Sesshoumaru's eyes opened. He remained still for a moment as he tried to remember what had happened and as memories from the night before flooded back, he glanced around and was relieved to discover that this was the bedroom he and Rin were staying in. Sighing to himself, he closed his eyes again as his head began to throb slightly. With his eyes closed, he focused on what he lay on. He assumed it was either the bed or the sofa, but he couldn't remember either of them being so comfortable before and he was certain that the furniture in his old bedroom had not been replaced. Opening his eyes again, he looked up and was startled to find himself not far away from a bosom he had been admiring the night before. It was obviously Rin's and as he sat up slightly, he realised that he had been using her lap as a pillow while she slept on the sofa beside him.

Apparently sensing that there was suddenly more space for her to move, Rin slid down the sofa slightly and wrapped her arms more securely around Sesshoumaru's shoulders as she did so. A silver eyebrow rose as he felt himself being pulled closer to her and when his head rested on her bosom instead of her lap, he had to smother a chuckle at the thought that Rin liked to cuddle in her sleep. Adjusting his position so that he was comfortable and able to slip an arm around her waist to pull her closer still, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes again and drifted off to sleep again, hoping that the throbbing of his head would have subsided when he next awoke.

Several hours later, the sound of hushed voices woke both Rin and Sesshoumaru. Glancing sleepily around the room, their gazes landed on the twins who stood nearby, looking at the pair on the sofa with concerned looks on their faces. Their faces lit up when they saw that the pair had woken up, but they chose to remain silent.

"Is there something wrong?" Sesshoumaru's husky voice queried as he looked from one child to the other.

"You didn't come to bed last night," Ichirou explained slowly.

"I said that we would come to bed when your uncle woke up, didn't I?" Rin inquired sleepily, surprising Sesshoumaru who had not thought she was awake. "I fell asleep before he woke up."

Ichirou nodded in understanding before looking at the pair closely. "The sofa doesn't look comfortable."

"It is better than you think," Sesshoumaru murmured, his arm tightening around Rin's waist.

"It's nice to sleep against Aunt Rin's chest!" Hana said suddenly, causing everyone to stare at her in surprise.

The little girl looked at the trio who were staring at her as though she had sprouted another head and then lowered her gaze to the floor, a blush staining her cheeks bright red. Ichirou looked thoughtful before nodding his head in agreement much to the adults' amusement. Rin giggled quietly as she looked at the children's innocent expressions.

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru agreed quietly. "What time is it?"

"The big hand is on the four and the little hand is on the six!" Hana exclaimed, looking immensely pleased with herself.

"It's twenty past six," Ichirou clarified, frowning at his sister's inability to tell the time properly.

"Why are you up so early?" Rin asked before yawning.

"You weren't in bed!" Ichirou said again. "We were scared on our own."

"Really?"

"Since you're both up, will you go to bed now?" Hana asked expectantly.

"Another hour's sleep would be welcome," Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully.

The twins rushed back to the bed with enormous grins on their faces. Rin shook her head and was surprised when Sesshoumaru pushed himself upright and pulled her to her feet beside him. Realising that she must look a dread state, she blushed and looked at her shoes. Sesshoumaru smirked and headed towards the nearest chest of drawers and pulled out a plain shirt. Ignoring the throbbing in his head, he handed it to Rin and pushed her gently in the direction of the en suite bathroom. Smiling slightly, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

"You're lucky," Ichirou stated in a subdued voice.

"Lucky?" Sesshoumaru asked, turning to look at the child curiously as he pulled off his shoes.

"I like sleeping next to Aunt Rin," the little boy said with a smile. "She hugs me all night!"

"You like that, do you?" Sesshoumaru queried as he slipped beneath the covers beside Hana.

"Yeah! She makes me feel safe," Ichirou murmured as he snuggled down beneath the covers.

"I like Aunt Rin's hugs also," Hana supplied sleepily.

By the time Rin returned to the room, the twins were fast asleep and Sesshoumaru lay against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. Glancing in her direction, he was once again floored by her appearance. It amazed him to think that she would look so stunning in nothing but a plain shirt, but then he realised that the difference was that the shirt belonged to him. A tiny smirk curved his lips as he watched her move over to the wardrobe to fetch a clothes hanger and thought that her wearing his shirt was very much like him staking a claim. The shirt reached mid-thigh and rode up slightly as she reached up to hang up her dress, but Sesshoumaru's smirk grew as he watched her bend down to place her shoes neatly on the floor beneath the dress, unintentionally revealing her rather enticing black underwear in the process.

He quickly moved his gaze back up to the ceiling when she straightened up and was glad that he had done so as she turned around moments later and made her way over to the bed. She smiled vaguely as she slipped beneath the covers beside Ichirou and shook her head as the little boy shifted in his sleep, pressing himself closer against him. Remembering the conversation he had had with the twins before they fell asleep, Sesshoumaru smirked at the sight, wondering if the boy was awake or not.

"He's rather fond of sleeping beside you," Sesshoumaru said quietly, turning on his side slightly to look at the woman who shared his bed over the childrens' heads.

"Is he? I can't imagine why," Rin replied with a smile as she pressed her lips against the little boy's forehead briefly.

"Something to do with your hugs, I believe."

"How're you feeling?" Rin asked with a frown of concern.

"A slight headache, but nothing serious," he replied with a slight shrug.

"Has the bump gone?"

"Bump?"

"You had quite a bump on your head last night," she said shaking her head at the memory. "I was worried you might have seriously hurt yourself. Didn't I ask you not to worry me?"

Tears filled her eyes before she closed them and pulled the little boy in her arms closer as though that would take away the previous night's incidents. Realising that Rin cared for him and was concerned for his safety, Sesshoumaru could only blink in surprise before shifting his position. Hana turned on her side and snuggled into his chest, but he ignored the little girl's actions as he reached over to slip an arm around Rin's waist, pulling her as close as possible with the twins still between them.

*-*-*-*-*

Much later, Sesshoumaru walked gingerly down the stairs behind Rin who walked ahead with the twins. The family was sitting in the kitchen about to have breakfast when the little group walked in. Izayoi was on her feet instantly, pulling out two chairs between her and Inutaisho for the twins while Rin and Sesshoumaru sat down opposite them.

"How's the head this morning?" Inutaisho asked, eyeing his elder son with a frown.

"Not too bad," Sesshoumaru said quietly as he accepted a cup of coffee that Rin handed to him.

"That's good. You gave us all quite a shock last night, you know."

"I apologise for that."

"Don't worry about that, dear," Izayoi said with a fond smile as she looked at him. "What matters is that you're alright."

"I'd be surprised if he wasn't alright," Inuyasha commented casually, a smirk playing on his lips as he tucked into his breakfast. "Mother asked me to check up on you half way through the night and considering where you slept, it'd be an insult to Rin if you didn't sleep well."

Inutaisho guffawed loudly at that while Izayoi and Kagome giggled quietly behind their hands. Rin blushed but said nothing as she reached for her bag and fished out her glasses, placing them on the table beside her and effectively ignoring the teasing looks everyone gave her.

"Uncle Sesshoumaru slept on Aunt Rin's lap last night!" Hana exclaimed, apparently having made a habit of saying unusual things rather suddenly.

"Did he, dear?" Izayoi asked with a smile as she looked at the little girl.

"Yes. He used her chest like a pillow just like I do. I said that it was nice sleeping there and everyone looked at me funny!" Hana said petulantly, crossing her arms and frowning at her uncle and aunt before glaring venomously at her brother.

"Don't think too much into it, love," Inutaisho said with a chuckle as he ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Sesh probably agrees with you," Inuyasha said in a strained voice as he struggled not to laugh. "He'll never admit it though."

"Now, now," Kagome interrupted smoothly, a sly smile tugging her lips. "Your brother's sleeping arrangements don't concern any of us. He's perfectly entitled to use Rin's chest as a pillow. Besides, now that so many people have suddenly become quite fond of her chest, maybe she'll be less embarrassed by it."

Inuyasha chuckled at that and nodded vehemently in agreement while the rest of the family looked at Rin curiously. At some point during the conversation she had slipped away to take out the contacts that she hated so much, but now, she sat quietly in her seat concentrating very hard on her breakfast while her face grew steadily redder with each comment. Sesshoumaru glanced at her curiously, wondering what Kagome could mean. His gaze flicked down to her chest briefly before he cast his mind back to the night before.

"You're embarrassed by it, dear?" Izayoi asked in confusion.

"She always has been," Kagome said.

"Always complaining that they were too big for someone of her size," Inuyasha added, grinning slyly at his brother.

"Don't be silly, dear," Izayoi murmured, shaking her head in disbelief. "They were a bit out of proportion when you were younger."

"You've grown into them now though," Inutaisho commented, nodding sagely as though he knew all about the subject.

"You shouldn't have worried so much about it," Inuyasha said with a shrug as he leaned back in his chair. "You were quite popular at school because of it."

"That's not a good thing though," Rin pointed out with a slight frown.

"The past doesn't matter," Inutaisho interrupted with a grin. "The most important thing is knowing that my grandchild will be comfortable."

Kagome laughed. "He'll be very comfortable."

The conversation continued for a while longer and much to dismay, the topic of conversation didn't change. She resisted the urge to palm her face as she watched the family talk about the size of her chest as easily as though they were discussing the weather. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes briefly as she sipped her coffee, unaware of the amber eyes currently looking at her intently.

Sesshoumaru had been surprised by the turn the conversation had taken and had not been pleased by the teasing, but he now found himself rather interested in what was being discussed. There was no questioning the fact that Rin was far from flat chested but nothing looked out of proportion to the rest of her. In fact, Sesshoumaru had to admit that everything about her was perfect. She was slim, but had an hourglass figure that would catch any male's eye and make most women jealous. Smirking to himself, he decided that finding out more about her would be his next course of action in this relationship they suddenly found themselves in.

"Can we please not discuss my chest size at the breakfast table?" Rin asked plaintively after a while.

"There's nothing wrong with that, dear," Izayoi said with a smile before glancing at her son. "Although I am rather curious as to why Inuyasha seems to so knowledgeable about your chest."

"It doesn't matter why he knows," Inutaisho said with a grin. "He should share some of the knowledge with his brother."

"Let me know what you want to know!" Inuyasha told his brother with a grin.

"Leave him be," Kagome suggested. "Let him discover for himself. If you tell him, it'll ruin the surprise."

Sesshoumaru shook his head and got to his feet. "We should be leaving."

Rin sighed softly as she sunk low in her seat as the car sped away towards their home. She couldn't remember being so embarrassed in a long time. Sesshoumaru glanced at her and smirked. It had been an interesting breakfast although he was certain that Rin would not agree. She was still blushing furiously and her hands were clenched tightly on her lap. Reaching over, he placed a hand over both of hers and separated them before gently taking on in his own. Rin looked at him in confusion before seeming to settle down. She sighed softly and squeezed his hand gently before looking at him curiously.

"I'm sorry about last night," she murmured quietly, her gaze falling to their linked hands.

"What is it that you feel you must apologise for?" Sesshoumaru asked in surprise, glancing down at her.

"If it weren't for me, Kohaku would never have hit you."

"You should not apologise for that. It was my choice to say what I did, is it not?"

"Well, yes, but you got hurt because of me."

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "The injury is not serious. I have had far worse."

"Do you think we'll see Kohaku again?"

"You might not, but I will."

"What does that mean?" Rin asked with a perplexed expression.

"He needs to know that he has crossed a line. That sort of behaviour is unacceptable," Sesshoumaru deadpanned.

"What will you do?"

"I'm not sure yet. He will regret his actions though."

Silence fell and Rin looked out the window as she thought over the words they had just exchanged. Her gaze fell their linked hands and smiled slightly. It was a step in the right direction. Still she couldn't help but worry about what he intended to do.

"Whatever you do," Rin murmured, squeezing his hand again. "Just promise not to get hurt. I've had enough of tending to your injuries."

"I promise," Sesshoumaru said quietly, squeezing her hand in return.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter XVIII**

Rin carefully kept an eye on her husband in the days that followed the incident at the party and was somewhat relieved when he seemed in no great hurry to do anything about Kohaku's behaviour. She wasn't particularly fond of the younger and was rather upset with him for behaving so badly, but she decided to keep her thoughts to herself lest she make the situation worse. Sesshoumaru was very aware of the fact that Rin was watching him like a hawk, but he said nothing and instead relished in the feeling of someone caring enough about him to want to keep an eye on his every move when he was at the university.

Both of them were aware of the new closeness between them following the party. They had never touched each other voluntarily but now, the subtle touches marked a big difference in their relationship. When Sesshoumaru arrived at the café where Rin would wait for him nearly every day, he would peck her cheek as he always did but even that tiny gesture had changed slightly. Instead of approaching it like a chore that he wanted to be over and done with quickly, Sesshoumaru now took his time and cupped Rin's face gently with one hand before pecking her cheek, letting his hand linger on her skin for a moment longer than necessary afterwards.

Kohaku appeared as normal to every class and spent the entire afternoon in the café with his gaze locked on Rin as she sat and talked to Rika while she waited for Sesshoumaru. Rin knew his gaze was always on her but ignored him, making sure she was never alone with him and never anywhere near him longer than necessary. Despite her efforts, Sesshoumaru was never pleased to walk into the café and find that bothersome man sitting at the back of the room eyeing his wife as though she were on display in a shop window. He had surprised himself by becoming even more possessive of his petite wife and the very thought that other men might be looking at her in a way that was less than innocent irked him greatly.

"He's not done anything since the party," Rin said quietly to Rika as they sat in the café and glanced over her shoulder. "Staring at me all the time is making me slightly uncomfortable though."

"Just do your best to ignore him," Rika murmured, smiling to herself as she caught sight of Sesshoumaru reaching for Rin's hand as he did so often nowadays.

"That's easier said than done," Rin muttered, pushing her glasses up to rub her eyes.

"We should leave if we are going to fetch the twins on time," Sesshoumaru said quietly, getting to his feet and pulling her up beside him.

"Why didn't you bring them with you?" Rika asked curiously.

"I arrived too early. They finish in half an hour's time."

Rin allowed herself to be led out of the café and waved at Rika cheerfully before the door shut behind her. Sighing softly, she looked down at her hand that Sesshoumaru held in a gentle but firm grip as he walked slightly ahead of her towards his car. A smile crossed her face as she mused over the fact that they were slightly closer now. With that thought in mind, Rin quickened her steps so that she was walking beside Sesshoumaru and gave him a brilliant smile when he looked down at her. The journey to the twins' school was quiet, but Rin was immensely pleased that Sesshoumaru took her hand in his again once they arrived at the school. It seemed to have become an unconscious action for him as of late, but she was definitely not going to complain.

"We should get out," Sesshoumaru suggested quietly, temporarily letting go of her hand to step out of the car.

"I didn't realise there would be so many people here," Rin said, looking at the groups of mothers who stood near the gates all deep in conversation.

Sesshoumaru shrugged as he stood beside Rin and leaned against the front of his car, waiting patiently for the two little children he waited for every day. Looking around her, Rin noted that quite a few people were looking in their direction and muttering unintelligible words behind their hands. A shiver of unease ran down her spine and she resisted the urge to wait in the car instead. Noting her unease about their situation, Sesshoumaru glanced at her from the corner of his eye before reaching out for her hand again. Rin looked at him and smiled as she realised that he was trying to comfort her in his own way.

Still leaning against his car, Sesshoumaru pulled her toward him gently until she stood so close that she could feel his breath on her skin. A light blush covered her cheeks as she felt strong arms wrap themselves loosely around her waist as though to hold her in place. Although she was pleased with the change in their relationship, Rin still found it difficult to know how she was supposed to respond when Sesshoumaru felt the sudden urge to touch her. Now was no exception and for a moment, she only looked at him in surprise before hesitantly lifting her arms from where they rested against her sides. As she slipped her arms around his neck, Rin fully expected him to push her away, but he never did. Instead, the grip he had on her would tighten slightly as though he was silently encouraging her.

When the twins finally appeared at the gate, they were surprised to find both their uncle and their aunt waiting for them. It was usually Sesshoumaru who collected them from school. What surprised them even more was the fact that pair were wrapped in each other's arms. Every so often, the couple would show the other some affection and this was one of the rare occasions that the twins witnessed along with everyone else present. Initially, the two children had felt awkward in the presence of both adults, but after seeing them being slightly more affectionate to each other than usual lately, they had become more at ease with both of them. Hana grinned as she saw the two adults and ran towards them with her brother following closely behind.

"Where've you been?" Rin asked with a fond smile as she turned to look at the twins when they came close. "We've been waiting for you."

Sesshoumaru watched Rin converse with the twins and suppressed a smile. He had felt completely at ease when she had wrapped her arms around his shoulders and even though she had turned away from him, he made sure to keep his arms around her waist. Eventually, with much regret, he was forced to relinquish his hold on her as they prepared to go home for the evening. He noted that Rin was unsure when it came to physical contact, but he was determined to clear away her uncertainty. It would take time to banish everything that caused her to hesitate, but in time, he would make sure that she would be eagerly seeking his touch.

*-*-*-*-*

Over the next few days, Rin became very aware of Sesshoumaru's presence. She started to notice it soon after they had fetched the twins from school together. Subtle touches every now and then and lingering looks made her breathless. Unless one was looking for a difference in their behaviour, no one would notice this difference. She had been getting used to Sesshoumaru taking her hand at every opportunity, but this was something different. Something she didn't understand. As she thought over the situation, Rin could only marvel at home many times they came in contact with each other in a single day. When they sat on the sofa, their shoulders would brush briefly. Walking side by side, their hands inevitably became entwined. Those were everyday touches, but there were others that never ceased to catch her by surprise.

Many times she had been preparing dinner and Sesshoumaru would step into the kitchen in search of something that always seemed to be in the cupboard either above or beside her. Her breath would quicken ass he felt a gentle hand come to rest on the curve of her waist as Sesshoumaru looked for whatever it was that he suddenly desired and his long fingers would linger on her skin for a moment after he found what he needed before he would leave her alone as though nothing had happened. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, but she couldn't understand the emotions those touches evoked within her.

"Why do people get married?" Hana asked one night as they all sat in the living room.

"That's a stupid question," Ichirou muttered, crossing his arms as he looked up from the small pile of toys that sat on the floor in front of him.

"They get married because they love each other," Rin supplied the answer before an argument broke out.

Hana tilted her head as she looked at her aunt who sat on the sofa nearby. "You and uncle Sesshoumaru are married, aren't you?"

"Yes, we are," Sesshoumaru said quietly, looking at the woman beside him who sat within touching distance.

"Does that mean you love aunt Rin?" Ichirou asked, now taking an interest in the conversation.

"Yes."

Rin's eyes widened slightly at the statement and they very nearly popped out her head when a strong arm slipped around her waist and pulled her against him. While the twins continued to question the purpose of marriage, Sesshoumaru answered to the best of his ability as he rested his chin on Rin's shoulder and occasionally nuzzled her neck gently. This was a most unexpected turn of events and it completely took her by surprise.

"So you can marry anyone you love?" Hana asked curiously.

"Not anyone, dear," Rin replied, pulling her thoughts back to the conversation and reminding herself that Sesshoumaru was simply playing up to his role of the loving husband.

"Who can't I marry?"

"You wouldn't be able to marry someone you're related to. Like Ichirou, for example," Rin said quietly.

"Why would I want to marry Ichirou?" Hana asked, her face showing her disgust with the idea. "No one would want to marry him!"

"Hm. No one would want to marry you," Ichirou muttered, turning back to the game he was playing. "You cry too much."

The twins continued to trade insults much to the adults' amusement, but Rin still had uncertainty coursing through her. She felt very comfortable in Sesshoumaru's arms as she was now, but it always hurt her a little to think that he would never do this out of choice and she doubted this time was any different. Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she felt lips against her neck and she glanced at the man beside her as best she could without making her surprise obvious. All though vanished from her mind when she felt long fingers slide beneath her shirt and trace abstract patterns on her skin.

"Ichirou might have some good points about him," Sesshoumaru commented after a while, successfully putting the argument on hold. "Even if he did, you couldn't marry him."

"Why are you so interested in marriage all of a sudden?" Rin asked when she regained the ability to speak.

Ichirou sat up and crossed his arms as he looked at the adults thoughtfully. "We liked it when both of you came to school today. No one else ever has two people come to get them."

"No one?" Rin asked in surprise before remembering that there had only been mothers present at the school that afternoon.

"No one," Ichirou confirmed. "We think those ladies at the gates aren't married so we wanted to know why people get married."

"I'm sure they are," Sesshoumaru said with amusement in his voice.

"It's a bit late to be discussing things like that," Rin said before the conversation could go any further. "It might be Saturday tomorrow, but you two should still go to bed at the usual time."

Rin felt herself held in place when she was about to stand up. She looked over her shoulder to find Sesshoumaru looked back at her with a smirk on his face. Her gaze fell on the two children who looked at her with pleading expressions and she sighed as she sat down again.

"Alright," she conceded eventually. "Just don't tire yourselves out too much."

"So we can stay and play?" Hana asked with a grin as she looked up from her pile of doll's clothes.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru confirmed. "You can as long as you don't make too much noise."

"Why?" Ichirou queried, tilting his head out of curiosity.

"We are going to watch television and we won't hear if you make too much noise."

This was definitely news to Rin and she couldn't help but smile slightly. She didn't mind watching television, but it was strange for Sesshoumaru to suggest such a thing when he usually found work to do before going to bed. Sighing to herself, she curled her feet under her and settled comfortably on the sofa before gasping in surprise when Sesshoumaru turned the lights off. Rin looked at him in confusion but he simply shrugged. The children seemed content to play in the light of the television and the light that came from the kitchen behind them and were completely oblivious to the adults who sat nearby.

Rin wasn't able to fully concentrate on what they were watching and soon found herself gazing into space as she considered everything that had happened that evening. She had been certain that Sesshoumaru was simply playing his role when he had wrapped his arm around her earlier, but after he had nuzzled her neck in such an affectionate manner, she wasn't so sure anymore. It definitely wasn't a bad thing though if he was being affectionate. An idea formed in her head and she smiled as she decided to relax and see where his little gestures led them.

It was halfway through whatever it was that they were watching when Rin felt Sesshoumaru shift beside her but she paid it no mind and tried to focus on the programme she was struggling to understand. Moments later, she felt lips on her neck again and smiled to herself. Acting on her earlier idea, Rin tilted her head to one side slightly and withheld a smirk when she felt Sesshoumaru pause his actions. After a moment, the lips returned to her neck and the arm around her waist tightened.

"I'm getting a little tired," Rin admitted eventually, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with all the excitement she was suddenly feeling.

Sesshoumaru nodded but said nothing as he glanced over the back of the sofa to where the children were still playing happily. Shaking his head at how such simple games could hole their attention for so long, he returned his attention to Rin and looked thoughtful for a moment. He wasn't willing to let her go just yet since he realised that he was beginning to get a response from her. The thought that she was responding to him whether consciously or not was thrilling and encouraging. Deciding against suggesting she go to bed, Sesshoumaru simply adjusted their seating position so that they were both lying along the length of the sofa. He didn't know why he was suddenly feeling the need to be so affectionate to this woman when he had never felt the need to be affectionate to anyone before, but he pushed the thought aside.

Rin didn't protest when she found herself lying down on the sofa with Sesshoumaru propped up beside her and his arm acting as her pillow. It was an unexpected action, but not unwelcome. Deciding to keep up the pretence of watching television, she shifted onto her side so that her back was pressed against Sesshoumaru's broad chest. After a moment, she felt a large hand creeping over her hip to rest on her stomach while those soft lips she had felt before descended on her neck again. By now it was obvious that Sesshoumaru had no interest in whatever was on the television and Rin had to admit that she didn't have much interest in it either. Her attention was focused on the hand on her stomach and she withheld a gasp when she felt those long fingers slid beneath her shirt and slowly make their way up her stomach. A quiet giggle from behind them drew her back to her senses as she remembered that the twins were still present. She definitely didn't want this to end, but it wasn't appropriate with the children still present. This was most was something far too private to share with any others and the fact that the others were children didn't help the matter. This was something they definitely should not see.

A silver eyebrow rose in mild surprise when Rin turned onto her side and looked at him with an expression he couldn't put a name to. Sesshoumaru watched as she seemed to come to a decision about something before reaching for the blanket that lay over the back of the sofa. Tilting his head, he watched her sit up and drape it over the both of them before settling herself down against him again. She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled mischievously.

"I'm a bit cold," Rin said quietly, her smile still in place as she leaned back against him.

"The evening has taken on a chill," Sesshoumaru agreed with a smirk as he caught on to her plan.

"It's not that cold tonight!" Ichirou said suddenly, looking up from his toys.

"Are the both of you not cold?" Sesshoumaru asked, looked at the little boy.

"I am a bit," Hana said suddenly, looking at the blanket over the two adults jealously.

Rin sighed and glanced at Sesshoumaru who merely shrugged. She was slightly disappointed that her plan had not gone accordingly, but she supposed there were other times. Rolling onto her back, she pressed herself closer to the man beside her, resting her head on his shoulder as she held back the blanket. Hana's eyes lit up at the invitation and she was soon across the room beside the sofa. Rin smiled vaguely and pulled the little girl onto her chest and wrapped her arms around her as Sesshoumaru replaced the blanket. The child smiled as she looked up at her uncle from her position on her aunt's chest, completely unaware of what she and her brother had unknowingly interrupted.

Time passed slowly and eventually, Ichirou claimed he was tired and disappeared to the bedroom he shared with his sister. Rin could only marvel at the little boy's willingness to sleep alone in the room when his sister was peacefully sleeping on the sofa. Hana had fallen asleep not long after joining the two adults on the sofa much to Rin's amusement and Sesshoumaru's dismay. Still, he may have been disappointed that his plan had been interrupted when it seemed to have been going so well, but he felt the urge to smile when he looked at the little girl's peaceful face as she slept. After a moment, Rin looked up and smiled at the man beside her. He gave her a questioning look but leaned towards her when her beckoned him closer. Amber eyes widened when he felt her press her lips against his. It wasn't the brief kiss they had shared on their wedding day and nor was it the timid kisses she had given him when playing her role as the loving wife. This was something completely different. This kiss carried a promise and it left him wanting more. When they parted, Rin smiled again and Sesshoumaru caught his breath. Perhaps he was going to have to do something about interruptions before attempting this again. He doubted that next time he would be so tolerant of such an interruption after the promise Rin had silently given him.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN:** I started this chapter last night, didn't like it and then rewrote it. I'm still not very happy with it, but never mind. I ended up reading instead of writing last night after starting the rewrite, but it's finally up :)

I thought I'd address some things brought up in reviews before I carry on. The chapters are a bit short and I will try to add more content to them to pad out the story a bit.

Another point brought up was the addition of a little smut to the story. It might be a good idea, but I've never attempted to write any smut so I don't know how this would turn out. Let me know what you think about that though.

xMxAx

**Chapter XIX**

The days passed quickly and uneventfully and Rin was very glad that nothing had happened. She had spent a long time worrying about Sesshoumaru deciding to declare war on Kohaku in order to get revenge and was very glad that he had not done anything. She was also very glad that Kohaku hadn't come anywhere near her. He still spent the majority of his time watching her very carefully as though expecting her to do something out of the ordinary, but he never approached her. However, the calm days were soon brought to an end one day as she sat in the café waiting for Sesshoumaru and the twins.

She had been having a pleasant conversation with Rika and was surprised when the older woman broke off mid-sentence to look at the door with a frown on her face. Sensing something was wrong, Rin turned in her seat and felt her breath leave her as she saw Sesshoumaru approaching. Usually, the stoic man carried Hana since she had become rather fond of him and he of her, but Rin saw that the little girl was skipping along beside the tall man, her small hand tightly clasping his. Much to Rin's surprise, she saw that Ichirou was held easily with Sesshoumaru's free arm and she instantly knew something was wrong. The little boy was fiercely independent and she knew he would not have allowed his uncle to carry him without a fight.

"Is something wrong?" Rika asked with a concerned frown as she watched Sesshoumaru place the little boy on the stool beside Rin's.

"One of the teachers informed me that Ichirou has not been well today," Sesshoumaru replied, lifting Hana up to sit on his knee as he looked at the little boy beside him.

A frown creased Rin's brown as she heard Ichirou whimper quietly before he sagged against her when she wrapped her arms around him. Her frown deepened when she lifted a hand to his forehead. Ichirou whimpered again as he buried his face in Rin's chest while the adults were left to speculate on what was wrong with him.

"It's probably just a cold," Rika said, reaching out to touch the little boy's skin. "It's a fever but not very serious. Let him get some rest for a little while and he should be alright."

"Just a cold?" Rin looked at her friend, hoping that that was all it was.

"If he gets any worse then see the doctor obviously, but it's probably just a cold," Rika said with a reassuring smile.

"We should probably take him home then," Sesshoumaru said quietly.

"You should probably get someone to look after Hana if she's not ill as well," Rika suggested, smiling at the little girl. "She might catch Ichirou's cold."

"I wanna stay at home!" Hana said, looking at Rika with wide eyes.

"Do you want to get sick?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, looking at the little girl seriously.

"No," she said quietly.

"Is it really alright to send her off to someone else for a couple of days though?" Rin asked doubtfully.

"Two ill children would be quite a handful," Rika said firmly.

"I suppose that's true," Rin murmured, stroking Ichirou's hair gently as she thought over the situation.

"I'm sure Inuyasha and Kagome would be more than happy to look after Hana," Sesshoumaru added.

Sesshoumaru and Rin left the café a short while later and not long after that, Rin was sitting beside Ichirou's bed while Sesshoumaru left to take Hana to Inuyasha and Kagome's. Hana had protested in the beginning but after Sesshoumaru promised that he would come for her if she wanted to come home, she had grudgingly agreed and left the house in a sulk. Rin smiled to herself as she thought over the little scene and wondered if her husband realised that he was wrapped neatly around Hana's little finger.

A blush crept over her face as she thought of the stoic man. The memory of the night in front of the television had not faded from her mind and seemed to have a habit of popping to the front of her mind at the strangest times. She could remember everything in vivid detail, which did nothing to diffuse the blush that would invariably spread across her cheeks. Rin could remember the feel his lips against her neck, the feeling of his fingers on her skin and the tingles that had raced down her spine when their lips had met. She still didn't understand the sensations that ran through her that evening, but she knew that she wanted to feel them again.

While Rin was lost in her thoughts as she sat beside Ichirou's bed, the very man she was thinking about returned and stood in the doorway for a while, watching the expressions on her face. One moment she would be smiling, the next she would be blushing furiously before a brief look of longing would appear only to be replaced moments later by another blush. Sesshoumaru could only wonder what she was thinking to cause such reactions, but pushed the thought aside for the moment as he stepped into the room to make his presence known. A smirk threatened to cross his face when Rin looked up and blushed furiously when her gaze landed on him. Evidently, she was thinking about him and he was fairly certain that he knew exactly what she was thinking about.

"Has he woken up?" Sesshoumaru asked as he stood beside Rin.

"No. He's been sleeping soundly since you left," she said with a smile as she looked at the sleeping boy.

The pair left the child to sleep in peace as they returned to the living room. Rin sighed as she stood in the doorway with a slight frown as she watched Sesshoumaru sit down on the sofa. He looked at her questioningly and tilted his head to one side as though silently asking her what she was doing. Eventually, Rin tore her eyes away from the man and shook her head, a vague smile tugging her lips. She remained where she stood in the doorway but looked at her husband for a moment before turning slightly as though she was about to go back down the hall.

"It's later than I thought," she murmured, glancing at the nearby clock. "I'm going to take a bath."

Sesshoumaru watched her slim figure disappear down the dark hallway until she turned into the bedroom and vanished from view before sighing to himself. He was very glad Hana had agreed to stay with his brother. When he found himself faced with an ill Ichirou, he had been stumped and had no idea how to proceed, but fortunately, Rin had taken over the situation and all he had to do was watch over the pair. Rin wasn't as upset about the boy becoming ill as he had thought and he was grateful for that too. Upset women were another thing that stumped him and he was immensely glad that Rin was not a weepy woman.

A small smile crossed his face as he thought of his wife who just happened to be either half naked or completely naked just down the hall. He had never seen her naked or even in her underwear, in fact, he didn't even know what kind of underwear she had. A brief glimpse of it once was all he had and from that glimpse, he simply knew that she had one pair of black underwear. Pushing the thought aside, Sesshoumaru looked down the hall with a thoughtful expression. If he went to the bedroom now, he would no doubt catch her in some form of dishabille. He might even catch her with her hair down, another thing he had yet to see. The reason for his desire to see her hair down was not clear, but he supposed it was probably the same reason why he enjoyed holding her small, delicate hand in his or why he took every available opportunity to touch her in one way or another.

Hiding his smile as he rose to his feet, Sesshoumaru silently made his way down the hall to the bedroom, pausing only to glance into Ichirou's room to make sure the child was still asleep. Satisfied that the boy was not in any discomfort, he continued towards the main bedroom and paused just in front of it for a moment. Although his plan to catch Rin before she was fully dressed had been his motivation to come to the room, as he stood in front of that very room, he very much doubted that his plan would actually work. Knowing his luck, he was willing to bet that Rin probably changed in the bathroom right after her bath like he did. Sighing to himself, Sesshoumaru pushed the door open and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him with a quiet snap.

A surprised gasp from the other side of the room caused him to look up moments later and he couldn't quite believe his luck as he took in the sight before him. The bathroom door was open and Rin stood beside the bed, her eyes wide with surprise. She clutched a towel to her front, but Sesshoumaru was rather pleased that it didn't cover everything. Turning his gaze away from her, he crossed the room and picked up one of the towels that sat beside his side of the bed. Rin's eyes widened even more when she saw the tall man walk towards her, unfolding the towel as he approached. She felt as though she would faint from shock when he wrapped the towel around her waist before sitting on her side of the bed and giving her a vague smirk.

"I didn't mean to surprise you," Sesshoumaru admitted quietly, securing the towel around her waist as she stared at him.

"I… uh… it's alright," Rin replied, blushing furiously as she looked down at herself. "I forgot to take a change of clothes into the bathroom with me."

A silent sigh escaped her lips as she looked down at the man sitting just in front of her. The situation was strange and she couldn't remember ever being naked in close proximity to any other person, but somehow, she didn't feel uncomfortable. She frowned slightly as she tried to understand why she wasn't uncomfortable or more embarrassed. Rin was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed the hands that sat innocently on her hips, holding the towel in place. Hesitantly, she looked into Sesshoumaru's eyes and had to fight down the blush that tried to cover her cheeks. He didn't say anything more or do anything other than look at her, waiting to see what she would do and how she would react to his proximity.

"T-Thank you for the towel," she said quietly, looking away from his intense gaze as she lowered a hand to clasp the towel around her waist.

"I think we need to get you some bigger towels," Sesshoumaru murmured with amusement.

Rin smiled in reply but refrained from speaking when she saw Sesshoumaru frown slightly. Before she could question him, she felt arms wrap around her waist and pull her forward. Moments later, she found herself on her knees between Sesshoumaru's legs with his arms wrapped around her tightly. Frowning in confusion, Rin tried to lean back to question his actions, but he caught her gaze and shook his head.

"Hush," he said quietly, a vague smirk tugging his lip as he looked down at her.

"Uncle Sesshoumaru?" a quiet voice from the doorway questioned moments later and Rin suddenly understood the situation.

"What is it, Ichirou?" Sesshoumaru asked calmly, glancing over his shoulder at the boy in the doorway.

"Where's Aunt Rin?"

"She's taking a bath."

"Oh. Can I sleep here tonight?"

"If you wish. Go and fetch what you need from your bedroom."

When the boy had left the room, Rin sighed softly and sagged against Sesshoumaru for a moment. After a moment, they heard a rustling down the hall and Sesshoumaru got to his feet quickly, pulling Rin up beside him as he made his way over to the bathroom. Giving the tall man a grateful smile, Rin accepted the shirt he pushed into her hands before closing the bathroom door. As she dried herself and dressed, she listened to the conversation taking place in the bedroom on the other side of the door. It was only when she was about to pull the door open that Rin realised that she was once again clad in one of Sesshoumaru's shirts. It didn't bother her in the slightest, but she wondered what Ichirou would say or if he would even notice since he was unwell.

Ichirou was just settling into the large bed when Rin stepped into the room. He smiled sleepily at her as he snuggled into the covers on her side of the bed. Sesshoumaru was sitting sedately on his side of the bed, his long legs crossed at the ankles and his intense amber eyes watching her carefully. Rin's eyes widened as she watched Sesshoumaru shift slightly to increase the gap between himself and Ichirou. Taking the hint, she climbed onto the bed and carefully settled herself between the two males. Propping herself up on the numerous pillows, she reached over Ichirou for the book that sat on her bed side table. As she returned to her previous position against the pillows and glanced at Sesshoumaru when she realised that he hadn't moved.

"Are you not going to sleep?" she asked quietly, conscious of the sleeping child on her other side.

"Not just yet," Sesshoumaru replied.

"What will you do?"

"I'll probably do some work."

"Oh."

Glancing down at Rin when he heard the strange tone of her voice, Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to smile when he found her looking up at him. She had an innocent look on her face and the urge to wrap his arms around her and never let go was almost overwhelming. Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned towards her, pressing his lips against her cheek for a moment before pulling away and leaving the room.

*-*-*-*-*

Ichirou recovered fairly quickly and proved that it had simply been a cold just like Rika had said, but neither of these things could put Rin's restless mind at ease. Despite the worry she had felt for her nephew, her mind kept calling up memories of being naked except for a couple of towels and held in Sesshoumaru's arms. She wasn't afraid to admit that it had been a thrilling experience and that she wouldn't put up any protests if it were to happen again. Glancing at her husband from the corner of her eye, Rin smirked to herself as a plan began to form in her mind.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow when Rin announced that it was time for the twins to retire to their beds, but said nothing as he watched her shepherd the two children towards the door. Shaking his head when the trio was out of sight, he picked up the book he had seen Rin reading earlier and glanced through it, grimacing slightly when he realised that it was related to her work. Flipping through the pages, he read the notes she had written beside various passages and marvelled at how neat her writing was. He stopped when he can to the page where her bookmark sat and his eyes widened in surprise as he stared at her bookmark. It was a photograph she had taken of himself and the twins some time ago and he was surprised she had kept it after saying that it hadn't turned out well. Flipping the photograph over, he was even more surprised to find three names written on the back with a small heart doodled beside each one. Sesshoumaru smiled vaguely as he looked at the photograph again and then tucked it away in the book before rising to his feet.

Slowly, he made his way down the hall to the bedroom, his mind still on the photograph. Rin was probably still putting the twins to bed which would give him enough time for a quick shower before going to bed. Stepping into the bedroom, Sesshoumaru picked up one of the pairs of trousers he slept in and a towel before heading for the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he noted that the room was slightly steamy and it was then that he realised that the sound he had been dimly aware of since entering the bathroom was actually the shower. Wondering if one of the twins had been given permission to use the only shower before going to bed, Sesshoumaru walked up to the curtain and pulled it back, ready to suggest that the shower's occupant use the other bathroom.

Amber eyes widened in amazement when he pulled back the curtain and found a woman standing where he had assumed a child would be. Rin's brown eyes widened slightly as she glanced over her shoulder when she felt a sudden cool breeze. As he stared at his wife, Sesshoumaru found that his mind refused to comprehend what he was seeing. There was no way that Rin would be standing naked in a steaming hot shower, staring at him with that innocent look on her face that drove him wild with desire. This had to be something that his overactive imagination had conjured up to soothe the disappointment of not having seen her naked the last time he had walked into the bedroom after her shower. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but be surprised that Rin still stood in the shower, although she had grabbed a towel from the nearby rack to preserve her decency.

"Excuse me," Sesshoumaru muttered quietly, about to step away and pull the curtain closed.

"Did you want a shower?" Rin asked, looking at him intently.

"I was considering having one before retiring for the night," he confirmed gruffly, trying very hard not to let his gaze roam over the luscious body in front of him.

"Just wait a moment then, I'm nearly done."

If he hadn't been so stunned by Rin's unusually bold words, Sesshoumaru would have assumed that he had either lost his mind or had died and gone to heaven. Rin turned her back on him and dropped the towel she had been clutching against her front into a wet pile on the floor of the shower stall. Sesshoumaru wondered if she was always so unconcerned about her nakedness, but quickly remembered how she had behaved the last time they were in a similar situation. He knew that the decent thing to do would be to step away, draw the curtain and leave the room while she finished her shower, but his feet refused to move and he couldn't tear his gaze away from her curvaceous body that was deliciously exposed.

"I'm done now," Rin said quietly a short while later.

A smirk curved her lips briefly as Rin bent forward to pick up the sodden towel she had dropped. Covering herself with it, she turned around and gave the tall man holding back the curtain a cheerful smile as she stepped past him. She was almost certain that his gaze was still trained on her as she dropped the wet towel into the bath and moved across the room to where her clothes sat. It was strange for her to feel so confident when she was naked, but what surprised her the most was that she wasn't uncomfortable either. It was thrilling to know that she could make him lose his composure and Rin smiled to herself as she decided that she would be using this technique to get his attention again soon. Eventually, his grip on his emotions would fail and she would be enveloped in that embrace again. It might take some time, but she had enough patience to wait for that perfect moment.

Sesshoumaru quickly stripped and hid behind the shower curtain as he listened to Rin moving about and getting dressed. He couldn't remember ever wanting a woman as much as he wanted her. There was something about her that made him crave her touch and yearn to have all her attention focused on him. The sound of the door closing made him sigh in relief. Rin had suddenly developed enough confidence to be naked around him and although it should have pleased him, Sesshoumaru couldn't think of a worse form of torture. Every fibre of his being wanted to reach out and touch her, pull her close and hold her close. He wanted nothing more than to hold that enticing body close and watch her delightfully expressive face change as she writhed with pleasure beneath him, but he knew that the chances of fulfilling that particular fantasy were slim to none at the moment. In time, it would happen and as long as Rin didn't do anything drastic enough to make him lose the iron grip he kept on his emotions, Sesshoumaru was more than willing to wait until Rin felt ready to take that step.

Feeling slightly better now that he had put his raging emotions in order, Sesshoumaru stepped out of the shower and dressed quickly, praying Rin wouldn't suddenly step through the door. Sighing to himself, he stepped into the bedroom and looked around. The light beside Rin's side of the bed had been turned off which usually indicated that she had fallen asleep and the soft steady breathing that seemed very loud in the silent room proved that she was asleep. Being careful not to wake her, Sesshoumaru slipped beneath the covers and reached out to turn off the light after taking a final glance at Rin's sleeping face. He was willing to wait for her to make that step towards a physical relationship, but he knew that it would difficult trying to keep his hands off her now that he knew what she hid beneath her clothes. Only time would tell if he truly could wait.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter XX**

Sesshoumaru looked up and glanced across the room when he heard a soft sigh. On the other side of the room, Rin was bent over the dresser as she looked at her reflection as she put the finishing touches to her make up and put on her earrings. Leaning back against the pillows on the bed, he let his gaze travel down her body and a smirk tugged his lips. Her black chiffon dress reached her knees and the Sesshoumaru couldn't help but trail his gaze down her slender legs to her dainty feet encased in a pair of strappy high heeled shoes that struck him as impossible to walk in. Looking her over again, Sesshoumaru couldn't help the glimmer of pride he felt as he realised how stunning she looked. Rin chose that moment to turn around and look at him seriously.

"Are you waiting for me?" Rin asked, raising an eyebrow at her husband who lounged casually on the bed.

"Not anymore," Sesshoumaru replied with a smirk as he got to his feet and pulled on his jacket.

Shaking her head, Rin pulled on her own jacket as she walked out the door to see where the twins were. Hana and Ichirou were sitting in the living room with unusually serious expressions on their faces. At the sight of their aunt, their faces brightened instantly and they were soon racing across the room to where she stood in the doorway.

"Don't run," Rin admonished them gently. "If you trip, you'll spoil your clothes."

"Where are we going?" Hana asked as Rin secured the ribbon in the little girl's hair.

"To dinner with my brother and parents," Sesshoumaru supplied as he stepped into the room.

The children chattered excitedly about the evening and obediently left the house to head for the car when Rin asked. She smiled as she listened to them talk all the way to the house and she swore she could see the tiniest of smiles on Sesshoumaru's lips when she glanced his way briefly.

They arrived at Inutaisho and Izayoi's home a short while later and Rin sent Sesshoumaru a questioning look when she saw an unfamiliar car parked beside Inuyasha's red one. He simply shrugged and ushered them all indoors. There was great commotion as the little family trooped into the living room and everyone present got to their feet to welcome the children. Once everyone was seated, Sesshoumaru glanced around the room and then stiffened when his amber gaze fell on the two people he hadn't seen while everyone had been on their feet. Rin glanced at him curiously, frowning slightly as she watched him close his eyes as though he was trying to block something out but she felt a slight relief when he opened his eyes and seemed unfazed by whatever had bothered him.

"This is quite a surprise," a cold feminine voice said, breaking the brief silence.

Rin looked towards the source of the voice and her eyes widened in surprise. In one corner of the room was a person she had never met before but whose face she had seen many times in pictures that were now hidden from sight. A slender woman sat beside an unknown male on the other side of the room and Rin had to fight to ignore the sudden shiver that raced down her spine as she met the woman's cold grey eyes. The woman's skin was pale and her complexion was so perfect that it made her look like a life size porcelain doll sitting beside its proud owner. As Rin took in the woman's features, she knew instantly who the woman was.

"A surprise indeed," Sesshoumaru agreed, his voice equally cold as he stared blankly back at the woman. "If I had known you would be here tonight, Mother, I wouldn't have come."

"Tsk. Is that any way to talk to your mother?" she asked with a frown before rounding on Inutaisho. "What have you done with the boy? Your parenting skills are obviously questionable."

"No more questionable than your own, Masuyo," Inutaisho replied with a shrug that suggested he didn't really care much about the woman's opinion.

"Shall we go into the dining room for the meal since everyone's here?" Kagome suggested hastily, getting to her feet and tugging Inuyasha up beside her.

Following their lead, everyone rose to their feet and slowly made their way into the enormous dining room. The twins sat down between Inuyasha and Kagome while everyone else settled into the remaining seats. Rin glanced at Sesshoumaru curiously when he took her hand in his and pulled her to a stop just outside the dining room, looking down at her seriously.

"Is something wrong?" Rin asked, frowning in concern.

"Be careful of her," Sesshoumaru said simply as he looked over her shoulder to where his mother sat at the table.

Nodding, Rin followed her husband into the dining room and sat down quietly between him and his brother. A stilted conversation started and Rin snuck a glance at the two guests who sat opposite her. Masuyo was a stunning woman and it was obvious that the man beside her was wrapped neatly around her little finger. Every so often he would send adoring glances to the woman beside him, but Rin could see no affection for him in Masuyo's eyes. Lowering her gaze to the table cloth, she wondered briefly if the pair were only married because one of them was wealthy. It certainly wasn't a loving relationship by any stretch of the imagination.

"I heard that you married, Sesshoumaru," Masuyo said in her cold monotone before narrowing her eyes slightly. "Inutaisho, not only are your parenting skills deplorable, but apparently your judgement on a suitable wife for our son is just as bad."

Rin's head snapped up in surprise at the scathing comment directed at her and found Masuyo's cold eyes fixed intently on her. She felt both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha stiffen on either side of her while either Kagome or Izayoi gasped in shock, but she couldn't be sure which end of the table the gasp came from.

"There is nothing wrong with my judgement," Inutaisho stated with a cold edge to his voice. "I've known Rin since she was very young, she's the perfect wife for Sesshoumaru."

"Perfect wife?" Masuyo scoffed as she sipped her wine. "I think you are taking your defence a bit too far, don't you agree?"

"Not at all. I had been planning to make Rin a member of this family for quite some time, but Sesshoumaru beat me to it when he married her."

"An arranged marriage!"

"They were given every opportunity to refuse and chose to proceed with it," Inutaisho said with a shrug before glaring at the woman. "In any case, who Sesshoumaru marries has nothing to do with you."

"He is my son! It has a lot to do with me!"

"Your son? I don't think so," Sesshoumaru interrupted in a deceptively calm voice.

"I am your mother!"

"No," he denied flatly. "I may have resented her for many years, but Izayoi has been more of a mother to me than you ever were."

Mother and son glared at each other across the table while the rest of the family looked on interestedly. Rin shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she felt the rising tension in the air. The twins were fortunately unaware of the tension between the adults and continued their meal in silence. Sighing to herself, Rin prayed that the animosity would be forgotten for the time being so that the meal could continue in silence, but she doubted that would happen. She could remember hearing the story of Masuyo and Inutaisho's disastrous marriage and messy divorce a couple of years after Sesshoumaru's birth. After discovering that she would not inherit anything from Inutaisho and that everything would be left to his son, Masuyo had demanded he changed his will but when Intaisho refused, she had walked out. Sesshoumaru saw her a few times over the years as he grew up, but when he was old enough to understand the situation, he grew to resent her and it was evident to Rin now that he still disliked the woman.

"Tsk," Masuyo tutted and looked away in disdain as she gestured vaguely to Rin. "Not only do you refuse to acknowledge me as your mother, but you then choose to marry this common wench? She's nothing more than a teacher. It's obvious to me that she married you simply for the wealth you currently possess and will inherit in the years to come."

"That is enough, Masuyo," Inutaisho declared with traces of anger in his usually cheerful voice.

"I know all about you, girl," the woman continued, ignoring her ex-husband's words. "You are far too common to be married to my son. I can't understand your reasons for marrying her, Sesshoumaru. There's obviously something wrong with her. Why would you want to marry anyone who would try to take their own life so easily?"

Silence met that statement and everyone seemed unsure of how to proceed. A cruel smile twisted Masuyo's lips as she noted everyone's discomfort. Her gaze landed on the twins who had now finished their meal and were looking between the adults with interest.

"Then you take on those children as well?" Masuyo muttered with disgust evident in her voice before looking at Rin. "Not only are you common and suicidal, but you're a whore as well? You must be since the father to those children is obviously not my son."

Both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru started to rise from their seats as soon as the words left the woman's lips. Even Inutaisho looked furious as he prepared to intervene when the inevitable argument broke out. Masuyo looked at Rin with a triumphant smile on her face, knowing she had struck a nerve with her comments as she waited for Rin's response. Rin sighed to herself and placed a hand over both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's arms. They glanced at her questioningly but she shook her head and gestured for them to sit.

"Well, what say you, girl?" Masuyo demanded impatiently. "Your bad character traits are piling up."

Everyone looked at Rin expectantly, even the twins although they didn't understand the severity of the situation. Sighing out loud this time, Rin pushed her glasses up and looked across the table at the woman who seemed to find it immensely entertaining to belittle and insult others. Shaking her head slightly, Rin got to her feet and started to push her chair back before a voice stopped her.

"Running away?" Masuyo queried with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her lips. "Will you try to take your life again, I wonder?"

Rin's face hardened and she frowned at the other woman as she spoke in a calm voice. "I am not running away. I have nothing to say to you so I see no reason why I should remain here and listen to attempted insults."

"Attempted insults?" the older woman exclaimed in surprise.

"You think you know so much of my past, but you know nothing at all. I believe there is a phrase that says that a man should walk a mile in another man's shoes. You would do well to learn the meaning of that phrase before attempting to insult me with my past again."

There was silence as Rin left the room and the sound of the dining room door closing echoed around the room. Inutaisho sighed and palmed his face as everyone started to comprehend what had just happened. Inuyasha let out a low whistle as Sesshoumaru got to his feet and left the room, leaving the twin's in Kagome's care while he went in search of Rin. After looking through the rooms on the ground floor quickly, Sesshoumaru wondered briefly if she had gone upstairs before he noticed that the front door was open slightly. Stepping towards it, he pulled it open and his eyes widened as the light from inside the house flooded the area just outside the door. Rin stood on the steps just outside the door with her arms wrapped around her while she seemed to ignored cool breeze that whipped around her. She turned slightly to glance over her shoulder when she heard footsteps on the stone steps. Her shoulders sagged slightly when she saw it was him and not anyone else.

"Are you alright?" Sesshoumaru asked cautiously, wondering if that was really the right question to ask after that conversation.

"I'm fine, thank you," Rin murmured, her soft voice almost lost as the wind picked up.

"I think it's time to go home."

"I think so."

Rin didn't seem eager to talk as the pair made their way back into the house and Sesshoumaru inwardly flinched as he saw that her eyes were void of the swirling emotions he had become so used to since the twins had arrived in their lives and her face had once again returned to the perfect mask of apathy that it used to be. Inutaisho had readily agreed that it was time to call an end to the evening and the glare he sent in Masuyo's direction was not lost on anyone. The twins were baffled by their aunt's unusual behaviour and obediently agreed to spend the night with Inuyasha and Kagome when Sesshoumaru suggested it. He tried his best to reassure them that everything was alright, but he knew that they weren't convinced and if he was honest, he wasn't convinced either.

The journey back to the house was silent and Sesshoumaru briefly wondered if maybe he should have refused Kagome's offer to look after the twins, but quickly pushed the idea aside when he saw the distant look on Rin's face as she stared out the window at the passing scenery. He followed her up to the house and inside when she pushed open the door without saying anything. While Rin disappeared down the hall to the bedroom, Sesshoumaru sank down onto the sofa and wondered what he should do now. He cursed his mother for bringing up bad memories and destroying everything he had worked so hard to build with Rin. She had lost the apathetic mask and distant gaze when the twins had come into their life and he had tried to build on that and had been making good progress until tonight.

After giving Rin what he assumed was enough time to get undressed and anything else she wanted to do, Sesshoumaru got to his feet and walked down the hall to the bedroom, loosening his tie as he went. He paused briefly at the door but pushed it open after a moment, glancing around the dimly lit room for Rin. The light on his side of the bed was the only light in the room, but it provided enough light for him to make out the form curled up on the bed. Sighing to himself, he walked around to Rin's side of the bed and sat down on the edge. Rin's eyes turned to him briefly before they closed and she sighed softly.

"I'm sorry for what my mother said tonight," Sesshoumaru said quietly, reaching out to run his fingers through her hair, which she had untied and left loose. He decided that now was not the time to marvel at its softness or how it made her look stunning in a completely different way.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Rin replied in a barely audible voice.

They sat in silence for a short while until Sesshoumaru gathered his courage. He knew that he needed to offer her comfort, but he didn't know how although he was still going to try. Gently he pushed her hair over her shoulder and ran his hand down her back in what he assumed was a soothing motion since he had seen Inuyasha do the same with Kagome several times. He was mildly surprised when Rin seemed to relax under his touch.

"You don't need to be strong all the time," he murmured quietly as he continued his movements.

"What do you suggest I do then?" Rin asked in a subdued voice.

"Whatever you feel like doing now."

Rin turned on her back and looked at him thoughtfully for a moment as though trying to determine whether he was being serious or not. When she seemed to get her answer, she sat up and smiled slightly when Sesshoumaru looked at her curiously. His eyes widened when Rin leaned toward him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his shirt. Sesshoumaru stiffened for a moment but hesitantly wrapped his arms around her when his surprise had subsided. He had been wondering what the purpose of this action was when he felt a sudden wetness against his skin. Realising that she had been more hurt by his mother's words that she let on, Sesshoumaru tightened his arms and held her close as silent sobs racked her body.

"I'm sorry for crying all over you again," Rin said quietly when her tears had finally stopped.

"You don't need to apologise," Sesshoumaru murmured in her ear as he pulled her closer still. "I don't mind being your handkerchief if it makes you feel better."

A quiet giggle made him smile to himself as he realised that Rin was starting to feel better. The memory of her distress and the damp feeling of her tears against his skin irked him and he decided that he wasn't going to let go of her just yet. She seemed content with where she was which made Sesshoumaru even less willing to let her go. After a moment, they parted and he shrugged off his jacket before reaching for her again when he saw the slightly uncertain on Rin's face. She sighed softly as his arms wrapped tightly around her and pushed herself closer. A wave of fatigue rushed over her and as her eyes drifted shut, Rin could feel herself being shifted until she felt the softness of the bedcovers beneath her.

Sesshoumaru watched Rin fall asleep and breathed a sigh of relief when she finally fell asleep. Running his fingers gently down her spine, he smirked when she shivered and pressed herself closer to him in her sleep. He pressed his lips against the crown of her head gently before taking a final look at her sleeping face. Rin had a strange way of evoking his protective side and although he would never admit it, the very idea that someone had caused her to cry did not sit well with him. As he settled down to sleep for the night, he decided that he would do his hardest to ensure that no more tears fell from her beautiful eyes.

*-*-*-*-*

**AN:** Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter :) I was going to add a shower scene, but decided against it. Perhaps later :P

Anyway… there was something I wanted to say. I have no idea what Sesshoumaru's mother is like or what her name is. I attempted some research about her and lost interest after about a quarter of an hour of finding nothing of any use. Since I know nothing about her, her mannerisms and character is going to be the product of my imagination. If anyone knows anything about her, let me know and I'll correct the chapter, but if not, please bear with me and I hope she's not too disappointing :)


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter XXI**

Much to everyone's surprise, Rin's behaviour returned to normal the next day and she acted as though the evening had never taken place. Her smiles were as cheerful as they were before and everyone could only wonder what kind of miracle Sesshoumaru had performed the night before to cheer her up so easily. The day following the disastrous dinner was bright and sunny and Rin was eager to be out of the house and enjoying the unusually warm weather for the time of year. After much convincing, Rin had been persuaded by the twins to take them to the nearby park for the day and she had been surprised when the rest of the family volunteered to come along. Izayoi had promised to take care of the food for the day while Kagome had simply been overly excited about the idea of a day outdoors.

While the rest of the family walked ahead to find a good place to sit in the park, Sesshoumaru followed at a slower pace. His amber eyes followed Rin's every movement and taking in every one of her expressions. He wasn't entirely convinced that she was back to normal, but she was certainly looking a lot better than the night before which he supposed meant that she was on the road to recovery. Inuyasha fell into step beside his brother and smirked at him as he looked at the three women who laughed cheerfully at whatever Inutaisho was saying to them.

"You can work miracles it seems," Inuyasha said, his smirk in place as he glanced at his brother.

"Hardly," Sesshoumaru deadpanned, his gaze still locked on Rin.

"You must've done something, Sesh," the younger brother insisted. "It usually takes her ages to go back to normal after someone mentions that."

"She is a strong woman. I had nothing to do with it."

"Of course not," Inuyasha agreed with a snigger. "Someone like you wouldn't even know how to comfort another person."

"Someone like me?" Sesshoumaru queried, taking his eyes off Rin to glare at his brother. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means, Sesh. We all know you're very backward when it comes to emotions."

"Do forgive me, Wise One," the elder brother muttered sarcastically. "I wasn't aware you were such an expert on the topic. Had I known I would have sought your advice."

Inuyasha laughed and clapped his brother on the back before giving him a suggestive wink. "Regardless of how backward you are emotionally, I'm sure you had a good time comforting her last night, am I right?"

Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks and stared at his brother in disbelief. That was probably one of the most stupid questions his brother had ever asked. Shaking his head at the very idea of discussing such private matters with Inuyasha and his rather over active and loud voice was not appealing and Sesshoumaru knew that it was never going to happen. Kagome's voice drifted over to where the siblings stood and Sesshoumaru looked up to find the three women and his father looking at the pair questioningly. Turning to look at his brother, he noted with a frown that Inuyasha still had a suggestive smirk on his face as he waited for his brother's response. Shaking his head once more, he reached up and hit Inuyasha lightly on the back of the bead before walking towards the rest of the family.

"Do you really think I would discuss such things with a lech like you?" Sesshoumaru asked over his shoulder as he started walking.

"I'm not a lech!" Inuyasha retaliated in an indignant voice.

"No. You just like knowing what people do in their spare time. I think you've been spending too much time with Miroku."

"Bastard."

"Half wit."

As the brothers came closer, Rin's eyes widened as she listened to them exchanging insults as though it was a form of everyday conversation for them. She glanced at Inutaisho who shook his head and gave her a smile before sitting beside Izayoi. The siblings eventually grew tired of trading insults, sat down beside their respective spouses, and proceeded to ignore each other. Rin was surprised when Sesshoumaru sat down behind her, close enough for her to feel his body heat but not actually touching her. Glancing over her shoulder, she swallowed hard when she found his gaze on her. She gave him a weak smile before returning to the conversation.

"Oh, Rin!" Kagome exclaimed suddenly, turning to look at her friend with a grin.

"What?" Rin asked, narrowing her eyes and becoming instantly wary of the way her friend was grinning at her.

"Don't look so suspicious! I'm not plotting anything devious!"

"Hm, that makes a change."

Kagome laughed merrily before leaning towards her friend. "Since summer's coming, Inuyasha and I are going to the beach house at the beginning of the week. You and Sesshoumaru should come with us."

"Sesh has to work though," Inuyasha commented, seemingly at ease with the way his wife practically lay across his lap as she spoke to her friend who sat on his other side.

"Well then Rin can come on her own with the twins," Kagome said dismissively. "I'm sure the twins would enjoy a few days at the beach."

"It sounds like a good idea," Rin mused quietly, thinking over the idea.

"It is a good idea," Sesshoumaru confirmed. "But Rin will not be going alone."

"She'll be with us, Sesh," Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes at his brother's possessive behaviour. "Stop acting like a mother hen."

"I am not acting like a mother hen," the elder brother denied with a glare.

"Yes, you are. You're so possessive of Rin. It's like you think the world's out to get her."

Inutaisho shook his head as his sons began to bicker again and refrained from teasing them both over their behaviour knowing that he would no doubt be drawn into the childish conversation in some way. He looked at Rin who seemed to be at the centre of this argument and smirked at the bewildered look on her face as she look from one brother to the other. As he watched everyone interact, Inutaisho had to admit that something about Sesshoumaru had changed slightly. He had never been one for physical contact and had gone to great lengths to avoid it in the past, but now, he was sitting protectively behind his wife as though daring anyone to approach her. It was quite amusing to see this subtle change in his stoic son, but he decided against bringing this point up for discussion.

"I was going to simply say that we will accept your offer," Sesshoumaru said eventually as he looked at Kagome and pointedly ignored his brother. "All four of us would be more than happy to join you."

"What about work?" Rin asked, turning slightly to look at him with a frown.

"Neither of us has taken leave this year," he replied with a shrug.

"You didn't go on your honeymoon either," Kagome added. "Just tell them that's what you're doing."

"It'll be fine," Sesshoumaru reassured her.

*-*-*-*-*

Two days later, Rin stood beside the car as the twins settled themselves comfortably into the back seat and smiled to herself. She had been a bit worried about how the trip would turn out, but excitement had begun to take the place of worry and she couldn't help but think that this trip was going to be very eventful. It had been decided that they would take one car since Inuyasha had recently purchased a rather large people carrier that was more than big enough to carry all six people and their luggage. Sesshoumaru had disagreed with the idea, but had eventually given up when he realised that his brother and sister-in-law who seemed to be in charge of planning the trip were not paying any attention to him at all. Rin had smiled sympathetically and told him quietly that she would have preferred his idea although he wondered if she truly meant that or if she was saying it to appease him, but he shrugged it off.

When they finally left Inuyasha and Kagome's home, Sesshoumaru was regretting agreeing to come on this trip. Inuyasha was driving and Sesshoumaru had never liked the way his brother drove, but Kagome's incessant chatter was beginning to get on his nerves and they weren't even half an hour into the 3 hour journey. The twins sat at the very back o the vehicle and seemed to be perfectly content with the bags that surrounded them. Hana made herself comfortable and was drifting off to sleep while Ichirou buried himself in a book Kagome had given him. A soft sigh escaped Sesshoumaru's lips as he looked out the window at the passing scenery. He was not used to being a passenger and it didn't sit well with him. Rin seemed to sense his discomfort and shifted in her seat slightly causing him to look down at her curiously. She seemed engrossed in a conversation with Kagome who sat just in front of her, but Sesshoumaru noted that Rin was now closer than she had been previously. Smirking to himself, he turned to look out the window again as he reached out to entwine their fingers together.

After many stops that made the long journey even longer, it was getting dark by the time Inuyasha finally pulled up in front of the beach house they would all be staying in. The twins were asleep and Kagome was trying valiantly to stay awake, but Rin had lost the battle against her fatigue. At some point during the journey, she had fallen asleep and Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to smile as he looked at her. Reaching out, he gently shook her awake and once again had to fight the desire to smile as he watched her look around sleepily before looking at him and giving him a sleepy smile.

"We've arrived," he said quietly as he opened the door and waited for her to get out.

"How long have I been asleep?" Rin asked as she stretched.

"Quite some time. Not as long as the twins though."

Rin smiled and accepted the bags he handed to her, noting that she was holding the bags that were considerably lighter in weight than the ones Sesshoumaru was carrying into the house with ease. Once everything was sitting just inside the door and the twins were sleeping peacefully on the sofa, Inuyasha turned to his brother and grinned.

"Which room do you two want?" he asked, eyes twinkling as he asked.

"We don't mind which one we have, so go choose the one you want," Kagome added as she came to stand beside Inuyasha.

Shrugging, Sesshoumaru picked up Rin's bags and his own and walked away down the corridor, turning into the first bedroom he came to and switching on the light. Rin stepped into the room a moment later and smiled as she looked around while Sesshoumaru sighed to himself. It had been so long since he had last been to this house that he had forgotten how small the rooms where, but the one he had chosen was the smallest of the three bedrooms. Rin sat down on the bed and sighed contently before she looked at the tall man standing in the doorway.

"This is a lovely room," Rin said quietly before frowning as she looked at the bed again. "Will you be able to sleep in this bed though? It seems a bit short for you."

"I've managed before," Sesshoumaru replied with another shrug as he placed the bags at the foot of the bed.

Rin smiled and shook her head as she rummaged through her bag. "I'm going to have a shower."

While Rin showered, Sesshoumaru made his way to the small sitting room and found his brother sitting alone. Apparently Kagome had decided to have a shower as well which left the men alone since the twins were still asleep in their room.

"I hope you enjoy this week," Inuyasha said thoughtfully as he looked at his brother seriously.

"I'm sure I will find a way to entertain myself," Sesshoumaru replied, brushing off his brother's concern.

"I'm sure you will," Inuyasha murmured with a barely disguised grin.

There was change to find out what Inuyasha had been thinking since the two women came into the room, fresh from the shower. Rin smiled as she sat down on the sofa beside Sesshoumaru and curled her slender legs up beneath her as she made herself comfortable. Tearing his gaze away from Rin to glance across the room, he noted that Kagome was snuggling into his brother's side while Inuyasha eagerly wrapped an arm around her and nuzzled her neck gently. Despite the fact that his brother tended to irritate him at times, Sesshoumaru had to admit that he had a relationship that any man would be jealous of. Rin seemed to be thinking the same thing when she turned to look at him thoughtfully before turning away with a slight blush. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her blush but said nothing as Inuyasha decided to strike up conversation.

The conversation was inane and Sesshoumaru found his attention drifting. He noticed that although Kagome tried to keep up with the conversation, she was struggling to stay awake but he was surprised to find wide awake when he glanced at her. Inuyasha's words became background noise as Sesshoumaru looked carefully at his wife. She wore the knee length bathrobe that she sometimes wore at home after a shower and her legs were exposed to the cool night air despite being tucked beneath her. His mind began to wander as he looked at her thoughtfully. Her sleepwear usually consisted of a pair of shorts and a shirt, but he wondered what she wore beneath that robe now. He had seen the rather fetching black nightdress that sat untouched in their shared wardrobe and wondered if she wore that. It would look quite stunning if she was.

"We'll go down to the beach tomorrow," Kagome said sleepily. "I hope you brought your bathing suit."

"I did," Rin said thoughtfully, "But I probably won't swim much."

This revelation seemed to wake Kagome up and Inuyasha shook his head while his wife tried hard to convince her friend to swim the next day. While all the talk of a bathing suit was going on, Sesshoumaru frowned slightly as he looked at Rin. It had been some time since he had last been here, but he could remember that the beach Kagome spoke of was not a private one. Since summer was on its way, he assumed that the beach would be full of people and that idea did not sit well with him. For the first time in his life, Sesshoumaru wished his father had used his enormous wealth to get a private beach. He had no idea what kind of bathing suit Rin had, but he knew that it would show far too much flesh regardless of its style. The very idea of Rin wandering around in a bathing suit where other men could ogle her annoyed him even more. It was a good thing she was self-conscious.

"Well, you can try not swimming, but I don't think the twins will let you," Kagome said with a smile. "I'm going to bed."

Inuyasha remained in his seat while his wife disappeared down the corridor. Shaking his head, he leaned back in his seat and looked across the room to where his brother and sister-in-law sat. He looked at Rin thoughtfully for a moment before sighing to himself.

"Something troubling you?" Rin asked quietly as she adjusted her seating position.

"I was just wondering what Father meant when he said he had been planning to make you part of the family," Inuyasha said, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling as though it could provide answers.

"It certainly was a strange thing to say, but it doesn't really matter," Sesshoumaru said with a shrug. "She is part of the family now."

"Yeah. I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me a few years ago that you'd be my sister-in-law," Inuyasha laughed as he gestured at his brother. "I never thought you'd get married."

"Everyone seems to forget that it was arranged by Father."

"That's because you're so perfect for each other that it's not an issue anymore."

"Perfect?" Rin asked in confusion, glancing at Sesshoumaru for an answer but merely got a shrug.

"Of course," Inuyasha grinned. "Haven't you noticed it yet? He managed to bring back your smile and you managed to soften him up a bit. It's so much easier to deal with him when he's not always bad tempered."

"I was never bad tempered, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru deadpanned.

"Perhaps not, but conversing with you was like trying to get blood from a stone. Completely impossible."

"He wasn't that bad," Rin said with a giggle. I've always wondered why you say it difficult to talk to him. I've never had any problems at all."

Rin rolled her eyes when Inuyasha launched into a speech about his brother's lack of emotion and poor social skills. Turning her gaze to Sesshoumaru, she withheld a smile. It amazed her to think that just about everything she had ever heard about Sesshoumaru from his brother as they grew up was wrong. He wasn't the most emotional of people, but since she lived with him, she had learned how to interpret the things he said and the brief flickers of emotion that he sometimes showed when he thought no one was looking. Part of her was convinced that no one bothered to look carefully at him when the spoke to him. If they did, she was sure that they wouldn't be intimidated by him at all. The man never ceased to amaze her. Despite his seemingly cold exterior, he had been nothing but kind to her since their marriage. Sometimes he reminded her a lot of a lost child when he would reach out for her hand as though she could somehow guide him to wherever he was going. It was quite endearing.

"Before you take your speech any further," Rin interrupted when Inuyasha paused to take a breath. "I'm going to bed."

"I'm just getting started!" Inuyasha said with a grin.

"That's why I'm going now," she replied, smiling. "Good night."

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha stayed up for a while longer but eventually decided that they would surely be on the receiving end of Kagome wrath the next day if they were too tired to participate in her active day. Not looking forward to a night in a small bed, Sesshoumaru paused at the bedroom door and wondered if there was somewhere else he could sleep. All the males in the Taisho family were tall, but Sesshoumaru was taller than his brother who would easily be able to sleep in the tiny bed that he was sure would have his feet hanging off the end of it. Pushing the thought aside and deciding to see how the first night went, he pushed open the door and stepped into the room. The lights were off, but the moon light streaming in from the window was bright enough to light the room enough for Sesshoumaru to just make out the silhouettes of the furniture. Slipped beneath the covers, he felt Rin shift slightly in her sleep before settling down again. It some time to get comfortable, but eventually he managed it and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was bound to be an eventful day and he suspected that he would need enough rest to be able to keep up with everything.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter XXII**

A heavy thump on the bed woke Sesshoumaru the next morning and his amber eyes flew open as he sat up, thinking something was amiss. The soft sound of giggling caused him to turn around quickly to find its source. It took him a moment, but he relaxed instantly when he found the cause. Rin was standing at the tiny vanity table braiding Hana's hair and the pair were giggling as they looked at him. Sesshoumaru looked down to find out what had woken him up when his gaze fell on Ichirou who sat beside him with an enormous grin on his face. Resisting the urge to groan, Sesshoumaru lay back against the pillows and closed his eyes again.

"It's time to get up!" Ichirou declared in a voice that seemed far too loud for the early morning.

"Why are you up so early?" Sesshoumaru inquired, cracking an eye open to look at the boy.

"It's not early," the little boy said seriously.

"It's nearly 8.30," Rin supplied, glancing at the clock beside the bed.

Sighing heavily, Sesshoumaru pushed back the covers and got to his feet. Picking up a fresh set of clothes, he made his way towards the bathroom, pausing only to press a kiss against Rin's cheek before disappearing.

"What are we doing today?" Sesshoumaru asked a short while later as he emerged from the bedroom and stepped into the kitchen where everyone was gathered.

"We're spending the day at the beach," Kagome said with a grin. "Rin and I made lunch as well."

Hearing her name, Sesshoumaru glanced across the room to where Rin stood beside the table. Her eyes were down, focused trying to fit the very last of the food containers into a bag. She looked up at the mention of her name and smiled when she saw Sesshoumaru.

"We were beginning to think you might have died in your sleep," Inuyasha drawled as he stepped into the room. "That happens to the elderly, you know."

"I am not that much older than you, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru muttered, walking over to Rin and stopping beside her to help her put away the troublesome container.

"Sure," the younger brother said, rolling his eyes as he picked up one of the bags and headed for the door.

Kagome shook her head as she watched him leave. She picked up her smaller bag and looked across the room to the other couple, about to ask if they were ready to leave. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell on the couple. Rin had told her that Sesshoumaru could be affectionate sometimes and although Kagome wanted to believe her friend, she had never seen any display of affection before now.

On the other side of the room, Rin turned around when the last container was safely in the box. She smiled cheerfully up at Sesshoumaru and said something that Kagome couldn't catch. The tall man nodded but didn't reply and Kagome was sure that her eyes were out on stalks as she watched the couple interact. Rin giggled at something and reached for one of the biscuits that Kagome had made before they left for the trip.

"You should try these," Rin said thoughtfully as she took a bite. "Kagome made them and they're delicious."

"You're a baker now?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking at Kagome curiously.

"Only occasionally," she replied with a smile.

"Try it," Rin suggested, tapping his lips gently with the biscuit.

Clearing her throat and feeling slightly out of place, Kagome picked up her bag. "I'll catch up with Inuyasha."

Sesshoumaru watched her leave before turning back to Rin who had abandoned her hopes of getting him to try the biscuit and placed it between her lips, clearly intending to eat it herself if he wasn't having any. A smirk crossed his face as a devious plan formed in his mind. Rin looked up when a hand landed on her shoulder and tilted her head to one side as she closed the zipper on her bag. Her eyes widened when an arm slipped around her waist and pulled her against Sesshoumaru's chest. Surprise washed over her as he leaned towards her and took a bite of the biscuit between her lips. She watched him chew thoughtfully before smiling slightly as he picked up her bag and turned to leave.

"You're right," Sesshoumaru said quietly, a smirk on his lips. "They are good."

*-*-*-*-*

Sesshoumaru sat in the shade of a tree on the blanket they had brought that morning and looked around him. The beach was not as crowded as he had first thought, but there were still far too many people around for him to feel comfortable. The twins were paddling in the shallows nearby while Rin sat on a rock just out of reach of the water watching them carefully. His gaze lingered on her and he immediately decided that there was too much flesh on display. Her skirt reached mid thigh and her sleeveless shirt exposed a tantalising amount of cleavage. It was a stunning sight and although he wasn't keen on the idea of other men even glancing her way, he decided that he could tolerate it today. Reluctantly, he tore his gaze from her and looked around for the other two people who made up their party. An eyebrow rose when he found them standing knee deep in the water not too far away, locked in a passionate embrace.

"I was thinking that maybe we shouldn't have come," Rin's voice said suddenly from beside him.

"You didn't want to come?" Sesshoumaru asked in surprise, turning to look at her.

"Oh no. I'm glad we came, but I think we should give them some privacy at some point," she replied with a smile.

"Indeed. It's not appropriate to do such things in such a public place."

Rin giggled. "You sound like an old man saying things like that."

"According to Inuyasha, I am an old man."

"Don't be silly," she admonished him gently before tugging him to his feet. "An old man wouldn't be able to tolerate such a young family."

"Hm. I'd be a happy old man though," Sesshoumaru murmured, allowing her to pull him towards the water where the twins were playing.

"That's good," Rin replied, glancing over her shoulder to give him a cheerful smile. "We certainly have to do something if you weren't happy."

Rin sat down on the rock she had been sitting on before and pulled Sesshoumaru down beside her. Shifting slightly to give him more space, she brushed the surface of the water with her toes. The sound of someone calling her name caused her to look up and smile when she saw Kagome coming towards her with a smile on her face.

"You must swim, Rin!" she exclaimed.

"You know I'm not keen on bathing suits," Rin started, hoping to get out of having to swim even though the idea was tempting.

"I don't really see why you shouldn't like them," Inuyasha stated, frowning slightly as he crossed his arms. "You've always looked fine in bathing suits. You just need a little confidence in yourself."

"Will you swim if Sesshoumaru swims with you?" Kagome asked, looking pleadingly at the man sitting quietly beside her friend.

"It's not really a case of who I swim with," Rin tried to object. "There are too many people around for me to feel comfortable."

Kagome shook her head and reached for her friend's hand, pulling her away from the rock she sat on and back towards their belongings, leaving the surprised males in her wake. When they reached the bags, Kagome picked up her bag and pulled Rin over to the changing rooms and shut the door firmly behind her.

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Rin said looking at the bikini Kagome handed her dubiously.

"Nonsense," Kagome muttered, waving away her friend's concerns. "Nothing will happen and even if it does, it won't matter because Sesshoumaru's here."

"But…"

"I knew you probably wouldn't bring a bathing suit so I bought one for you. It's brand new and just your size," she declared triumphantly.

"How did you know what size to get?" Rin asked in confusion.

"Rin, I have no been your friend for so many years and not taken notice of such things. Put it on."

Once she had changed into the bikini, Rin didn't really want to step out of the cubicle she had locked herself into. She stared at her reflection in the mirror incredulously. The black fabric was adorned with tiny yellow flowers and was a stark contrast to her pale skin, but it was not the colour that bothered her. The bandeau was held together by a simple clasp and a strap that tied behind her neck while the bottoms had knotted tie sides which made her feel very uncomfortable. Not entirely sure that she wanted to go outside dressed in so little clothing; she leaned against the cubicle wall and tried to think of a way out of wearing it.

"How does it look?" Kagome asked impatiently after a while.

"It's very… revealing," Rin said slowly, glancing at her reflection again.

"Come out, let me see!"

Hesitantly, Rin stepped out of the cubicle with her clothes held tightly against her chest and a blush on her face. Kagome grabbed the clothes and put them aside, grinning as she looked at her friend.

"You look amazing, Rin!" she declared, turning to rummage in her bag again. "I know you're feeling self conscious, but trust me, you look amazing."

Sesshoumaru began to get impatient after a short while and glared at the changing room the two women had disappeared into. Inuyasha contented himself with playing with the twins, but was soon distracted when he saw the changing room door open and Kagome step out. Nudging his brother, he gestured towards the two women making their way towards them and Sesshoumaru felt his breath catch in is throat as his gaze landed on Rin. She looked stunning. His gaze slowly trailed down her body, lingering on her voluptuous chest and the one slender leg that was left exposed by the sarong that was tied around her waist.

"Didn't I say you looked fine in bathing suits?" Inuyasha demanded with a grin as he pulled Rin into a one armed hug.

"It's a bit revealing though, isn't it?" Rin asked, a blush staining her cheeks as she felt Sesshoumaru's eyes on her.

"What do you think, Sesh?" Inuyasha turned to grin at his brother.

"It is quite revealing," Sesshoumaru said slowly, looking over again. "But as Inuyasha says, it looks good."

Rin blushed at the compliment and looked down at the clothing in her hands. She couldn't remember the last time she had been complimented on her appearance by anyone other than Inuyasha. Feeling slightly more confident after Sesshoumaru's words, she followed Kagome back to the bags to put away her clothing. Kagome left to go back to Inuyasha while Rin reached for the sunscreen and made her way over to the rock had spent most of the morning sitting on. Sesshoumaru looked up when she sat down beside him, but said nothing as he watched her beckon the twins over. Reaching for the bottle, he helped her smear the cream over the children as he let his mind call up an image of Rin in her bathing suit, blushing prettily.

"What is this?" Hana asked suddenly, pointing at the cream Rin was rubbing gently into her skin.

"It stops you getting sunburnt," Rin replied quietly.

"Are you going to use it too?"

"Yes, I am."

"It smells like coconut," Sesshoumaru commented casually.

"It's a nice scent, don't you think?" Rin asked with a smile as she watched the twins run back over to Kagome and Inuyasha.

"It is."

From the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru watched as Rin started to rub the scented cream into her own skin and was tempted to reach out to see if her skin was as soft as it looked. His gaze travelled down the length of her body, once again lingering on her chest which was deliciously exposed to his eager eyes although he couldn't help but wish the fabric wasn't there at all. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against a large sun warmed rock behind his and sighed to himself as he allowed himself to daydream about the woman beside him.

"I hope I don't get burnt," Rin murmured as she inspected the bottle of sunscreen in her hand.

"You've smothered yourself in that so much that you could pass for a coconut," Sesshoumaru replied, his eyes still closed. "I'd be very surprised if you do burn."

"I might not, but you probably will."

"I'll be fine."

Shaking her head, Rin squeezed a tiny amount of cream onto her finger and reached out to touch Sesshoumaru's nose. She giggled when his eyes opened and looked around in confusion before seeing the cream on his nose. Sighing to himself, he rubbed the cream into his skin and looked at Rin who was still giggling quietly to herself.

"I'll take the hint, but I'll need more than that," he said with a smirk.

"You said you didn't want it," Rin replied with a smirk of her own as she hid the bottle behind her as though it would stop him from taking it from her.

"You're going to play like that, are you?" Sesshoumaru queried, his smirk growing as she nodded.

Shrugging as though the situation didn't bother him, Sesshoumaru shifted slightly to face Rin and leaned towards her. She tried very hard to keep a straight face but soon succumbed to her giggles as she tried to keep the bottle out of his reach. Deciding to change tactics, Sesshoumaru slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him, leaning down to nuzzle her neck. Rin gasped in surprise and soon cottoned on to what he was doing when she felt the other hand searching behind her for the sunscreen. Grinning mischievously, she pressed a kiss against his cheek and started to lean away from him. Having not been paying attention to her seating position, Rin scooted back on the rock as she attempted to disengage herself from Sesshoumaru and promptly found herself lying on the damp sand after falling off the rock.

There was silence between the two for a moment before Rin started laughing. Initially she tried to suppress it, but soon gave up trying. Shaking his head at her antics, Sesshoumaru smirked and leaned down to pull her up again. The pair were standing side by side in the damp sand when Rin finally managed to control her laughter and handed over the bottle of sunscreen that had caused her fall. Smirking at her, Sesshoumaru took her hand in his and led her back to their belongings while everyone else continued to enjoy themselves in the shallow waters nearby.

*-*-*-*-*

"It's because you spent the whole afternoon staring!" Inuyasha chuckled as he looked across the living at his brother that evening.

"Inuyasha, be quiet," Kagome reprimanded her mirthful husband. "He's in enough discomfort as it is without you adding to it."

"It's entirely his own fault!"

"I think I'm going to retire for the evening," Sesshoumaru deadpanned, ignoring his brother' smirk as he left the room.

"Inuyasha, you really do know how to make a bad situation worse!" Kagome exclaimed in irritation as she glared at her husband.

"Don't worry too much," Rin said quietly. "Will you two look after the twins for me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha said, waving his hand dismissively. "We'll look after the kids. I don't envy you having to look after Sesh though. I bet it'll an unpleasant experience."

Rin smiled vaguely as Kagome launched into a tirade about how Inuyasha wasn't helping the situation, but turned away to walk down the corridor before the argument got started. She stopped at the twin's bedroom and peered in only to be greeted with smiles and hugs. They nodded in understanding when she explained that Kagome and Inuyasha would look after them that night and even promised to come and say goodnight before they went to bed.

Just across the hall, Sesshoumaru listened to the twins talk to Rin and sighed to himself. He could be a total fool sometimes and today was a prime example of such an occasion. It was exactly as Inuyasha said; he had been concentrating on admiring Rin in her skimpy outfit and had completely forgotten to use the sunscreen she had eventually given him after their game that had ended with Rin falling off the rock. A smirk curved his lips at the thought, but it soon vanished when he tried to get comfortable on the bed and failed as he let out a soft hiss of pain. Kagome had convinced Rin and himself to swim with the twins and at some point, his back and shoulders had gotten horribly sunburnt and now he was suffering. Carefully, he rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow, not caring that his feet hung over the edge of the bed.

A short while later, he heard the door open and turned his head slightly to see who had come into the dark room. He frowned slightly as he wondered when it had gotten dark, but he was soon squinting as the light was turned on. An amber eye cracked open and looked towards the door. Rin stood in the doorway with a towel over her shoulder. She smiled when she saw him looking her way and stepped further into the room and sat down beside him.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, looking at him seriously.

"Uncomfortable."

Rin nodded. "That's understandable. Sit up."

A silver eyebrow rose at her request, but Sesshoumaru slowly pushed himself upright, refusing to wince in discomfort. Amber eyes widened as Rin starting unbuttoning his shirt before carefully pushing it over his shoulders and discarding it on the floor beside the bed.

"Unless you have anything loose fitting and made of cotton," Rin said by way explanation. "You're not going to be wearing a shirt."

"Why not?" Sesshoumaru asked curiously.

"It irritates the skin."

Nodding in understanding, Sesshoumaru shifted on the bed to give Rin more space and lay on his stomach again with a soft sigh. He looked up in surprise moments later when he felt something cool being placed against his back and caught sight of the towel Rin had brought with her from the corner of his eye. Closing his eyes, he relished the coolness of the towel against his hot skin before opening them again when he felt Rin move on the bed. She placed a tube of lotion on the bedside table before propping herself up on the pillows and looking at him with concern in her eyes.

"It's just sunburn," Sesshoumaru muttered, his voice muffled. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Hopefully it'll clear up before the journey home," Rin murmured, reaching out to brush his long silver hair away from his shoulders.

Sesshoumaru sighed to himself but said nothing as he concentrated on the feeling of her gentle hands on his skin. Her hands were smooth and cool, it was a feeling he didn't want to end. Reaching out, he pulled her closer even though he was lying down while she sat upright. Smiling at the movement that had become familiar over the course of the day, Rin made herself comfortable before reaching of the tube of lotion on the table. Pulling the towel back, she gently rubbed the lotion into his skin and smiled again when she heard him sigh softly as he relaxed under her touch.

"I'm going to get ready for bed," Rin said a short while later and slipped out of his grasp to disappear into the bathroom.

With great effort, Sesshoumaru pushed himself upright and changed his clothes before carefully lying down on the bed again. Rin returned to the room moments later and had just sat down on the bed when she felt an arm around her. Glancing over her shoulder, she noted that Sesshoumaru was looking at her from where he lay and was obviously waiting for her to settle down. Slipping beneath the covers, Rin made herself comfortable, wondering Sesshoumaru would be cold since he had apparently decided not to use the covers that night.

"Won't you be cold without the covers?" she asked with a frown.  
"Warmth does not only come from blankets," Sesshoumaru murmured cryptically.

A gasp of surprise left Rin's lips when she felt herself being pulled across the bed until she was snuggled pressed into Sesshoumaru's side. He smirked at her shocked expression before closing his eyes and preparing to sleep off the day's events. While Sesshoumaru seemed to be able to drift off to sleep easily, Rin was wide-awake. She was kept in place by a strong arm around her middle and Sesshoumaru was so close that she could feel his breath against her neck. The feeling of his breath sent a shiver down her spine and the arm around her tightened instinctively before relaxing its grip moments later. Sighing to herself, Rin turned to look at the sleeping man beside her. She had always wondered what it would be like to fall asleep in a man's arms and now she had the chance to find out, she doubted she would be able to sleep. Pushing all thought from her mind, she snuggled as close to him as she dared without touching the tender skin of his back and allowed a content smile to cross her face as she too fell asleep. If this was what happened when she took care of Sesshoumaru, she would be sure to do this again. Even if it was just for one night, it was bliss.

*-*-*-*-*

**AN:** Thank you for all the reviews :) I was going to put chapter 21 up last night, but it seemed a bit too short. It might still be a bit too short, but hopefully this one will make up for it. I'm thinking of drawing this story to a close soon because I don't want to drag it on too much. I'm not entirely sure how to end it, but I'll come up with something and I'll try to make it different from the other endings of my stories.

Thank you to everyone who gave me some help with Sesshoumaru's mother. I'll edit a few things in that chapter and add little bits I wasn't sure about, but for the moment, I'll keep her as she is. Thank you again for the help :)


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter XXIII**

The rest of the family's trip passed without incident and it seemed all too soon that Rin found herself sitting behind her desk in the her small office at the university. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and gazed out the window at the students passing by and let her mind wander. After that one day when Sesshoumaru had gotten sunburnt, he had refused to use the bed covers when he slept and Rin began to suspect that she was to blame for that. If she had not said fabric irritates the skin, he would no doubt have slept as normal, but she wasn't going to complain at the turn in events. Instead of using the blankets for warmth, he had chosen to use her instead and every night after that during that trip, she had found herself pulled close against him when she turned in for the night. It wasn't a bad thing at all, but she found it incredibly hard to sleep. The fact that it was Sesshoumaru who held her close was something she couldn't get her mind around. If she was totally honest with herself, the affection he had started showing her was another thing she couldn't get her mind around. It was very welcome and she tried her hardest to reciprocate in kind, but she still found it hard to believe that the man Inuyasha had declared emotionally stunted for so many years was the same one she was married to.

Pushing herself to her feet, she picked up her belongings and made her way to the café. She had just reached the door when she noticed Kohaku and his friends sitting a lot closer to her usual seat than normal. Her hand froze as it rose to push open the door and she bit her lip as she tried to decide if she could have a comfortable conversation with Rika if they were so close. Almost as though she knew someone was thinking of her, Rika looked up and glanced towards the door. She smiled when she saw Rin but shook her head slightly before turning back to the person she was serving. Not sure what this meant, but suspecting it was a warning of some kind, Rin turned on her heel and left. The twins weren't due to be collected for another hour so she had time to waste and decided that the best place to waste it was at the restaurant. Her lunch hour had been taken up by supervising a group of students who had gotten into a fight over some trivial matter which meant that she didn't have time to eat and now, she was more than ready for a rather large meal.

*-*-*-*-*

Sesshoumaru looked up as he heard someone call him. His co-workers were bustling around the room as they finished the afternoon service and were beginning to clean up their work areas in preparation for the evening service which would start in only a few hours time. He wasn't sure who had called him and he narrowed his eyes as he looked around the room in hopes of seeing someone looking in his direction. His gaze eventually landed on the maitre d' who stood at the doorway with a vague smile on his face.

"Is something wrong?" Sesshoumaru asked, wiping his hands on a towel as he walked over to the man.

"No, sir," he said, shaking his head. "I just thought that I should inform you that your wife is dining here at the moment."

"My wife?" Sesshoumaru repeated in surprise.

"Yes, sir. She is currently choosing her meal."

"Thank you."

The maitre d' nodded and smiled slightly as he stepped out of the kitchen, leaving his employer to his thoughts. Sesshoumaru put down the towel and stepped out into the restaurant. There were still a few people seated at the tables enjoying their meals and they nodded greetings as he passed by in search of Rin. He eventually found her sitting at the back of the restaurant in a corner. That morning he had left early and had not seen her before his departure and he caught his breath as he looked at her. She sat sedately at the table as she perused the menu. Her skirt had ridden up slightly when she had elegantly crossed her legs and as he watched her for a moment, Sesshoumaru struggled with the sudden urge he had to take her in his arms and trails his hands down her slender body. It took him quite be surprise and he forced such thoughts out of his mind as he approached her table.

"Rin, what are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked as he stopped beside her table.

"I was hungry," Rin replied with a smile as she looked up from her menu.

"Don't you normally eat at the café with Rika?"

"Usually," she replied with a shrug, lowering her eyes down to the menu again.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as Rin disappeared behind the menu. He knew for a fact that Rika and Rin were very good friends and that Rin rarely missed an opportunity to spend time with her friend. The vague way she had dismissed his question aroused suspicion and he could only wonder what had happened to make her choose to come to the restaurant instead of waiting for him to come and fetch her.

"I finished work early," Rin said casually, lowering the menu and closing as she gave him a dazzling smile. "The last class was cancelled so I had nothing to do for an hour."

"How can you be hungry?" Sesshoumaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "Your lunch break was just over an hour ago."

"Yes, but I didn't have anything."

"Why not?"

Rin sighed and rubbed her eyes. "There was a fight between students and I ended up supervising them after it was broken up so I didn't get a chance to eat."

"I see. Come with me then."

Looking up in surprise, Rin watched Sesshoumaru turn back to the kitchen. "I don't want to disturb you or anything. I can just eat here."

"Don't be silly," Sesshoumaru said, turning around to look at her with a smirk. "The lunch service has just ended so you won't be interrupting anything. You don't really think I'm going to leave you to eat alone, do you?"

"If you're sure…"

"I am sure."

Leaning down to the free seat opposite Rin, he picked up the small pile of books she had placed out the way and took her hand in his as she slowly got to her feet. Rin blushed slightly at the curious looks the few remaining customers gave her as she followed Sesshoumaru through the restaurant to the kitchen. The staff who were bustling around the kitchen paused when she stepped into the kitchen behind her husband before a loud chorus of greetings assaulted her ears. She smiled slightly in greeting and allowed herself to be seated at the small table she had occupied those months ago when she and Sesshoumaru had been planning the wedding.

"It seems like a long time since I've been here," Rin said with a vague smile as she sat down.

"It has been quite some time," Sesshoumaru agreed before sitting beside her and looking at her seriously. "Are you going to tell me why you didn't go to the café as normal?"

Rin narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at her husband. She knew that he had every right to question her actions when they changed suddenly and seemingly without explanation, but she was loath to bring up the topic of Kohaku. It was a touchy subject between them. She knew that Sesshoumaru didn't like the younger man that much and she really didn't want to bring up bad memories of the party when he had been knocked out.

"Alright," Rin conceded with a soft sigh. "Kohaku was in the café."

"I see," Sesshoumaru muttered, a slight frown creasing his brow before it vanished as he looked at her. "I'll make you some lunch."

After lunch, Rin left the restaurant with Sesshoumaru to fetch the twins from the school. As they stood beside the car waiting for the two children, Rin felt the eyes of other mothers on her and resisted the urge to groan in dismay. She stood out like a sore thumb and she was certain that it was because the silver haired man who stood beside her with an arm draped casually over her shoulders as he leaned against his car with an air of boredom surrounding him. Still, Rin was proud that she was the centre of attention because of this man and that he didn't seem to be eager to keep her at a distance.

"Did you know that we seem to be the centre of attention?" Rin asked quietly, looking up at her husband with a vague smile.

"Yes, I had noticed that," Sesshoumaru replied, squeezing her shoulder gently. "The twins should be arriving soon."

"Are you working this evening?"

"Unfortunately."

Rin nodded but didn't reply as she thought about what to do that evening. With Sesshoumaru at work, she would have the twins for company for an hour or two before they went to bed and then she would be left to her own devices. It would be a bit lonely, but she supposed that she could manage on her own for the night.

*-*-*-*

It had been a long evening and it had thoroughly exhausted her. The twins had been active for most of the evening and it had been a struggle for her to finally get them to bed since she usually had Sesshoumaru to help her. Now that the terrible twosome were sleeping peacefully, Rin was left to her own devices. Deciding that the best way to alleviate tension was with a hot shower, she made her way to the bathroom and turned on the shower as she gathered some clean clothes. She didn't know how long she stood beneath the steaming jets of water, but she felt much better when she finally emerged from the shower. Not caring much that the sleepwear she had chosen was more revealing than usual, she pulled the skimpy night dress over her head and made her way back into the bedroom. The bed looked very inviting and she simply fell onto the sofa mattress and promptly fell asleep.

Sesshoumaru returned to the house a short while later and assumed from the silence that everyone was asleep. It wasn't surprising really since it was nearly midnight. Shrugging off his coat and draping it over a chair nearby, he headed for the bedroom, eager to be off his feet and in the comfort of his bed. He paused in surprise when he stepped through the door. Initially he thought something was wrong when he saw Rin sprawled across the bed as though she had simply fallen, but he felt relief wash over him when she sighed softly and curled herself up into a ball in the middle of the bed. Shaking his head, Sesshoumaru prepared for bed before facing the dilemma of moving Rin over without waking her up. Eventually, he simply gave up and slipped beneath the covers as he decided to make do with the small amount of space left for him.

He had been trying to get comfortable when Rin suddenly rolled over to face him and he noticed that her eyes were open but she looked as though she didn't quite realise her surroundings. Much to his surprise, she simply smiled and closed her eyes again as she sighed again. His eyes widened as Rin moved closer and snuggled into his side, her head resting against his shoulder. Raising an eyebrow at her behaviour, Sesshoumaru shrugged it off as her still being half-asleep and simply wrapped an arm around her waist when he came to the conclusion that pushing her away was far too much effort and he didn't really want to. Unfortunately though, despite being perfectly happy to have her sleeping beside him, Sesshoumaru soon realised that he wasn't able to sleep. Looking down at the woman beside him, he smiled to himself before turning on his side and wrapping his other arm around her, knowing that sleep would come eventually.

A slight shiver ran down Rin's back and caused her to crack her eyes open slightly. Another shiver raced down her spine and she reached out to find the covers, intending to pull them around her to ward off the sudden chill, but she found none. Her eyes snapped open when she heard a soft chuckle coming from beside her and she turned to find its source. It was then that she realised where she was and what she was doing. Rin couldn't remember Sesshoumaru coming home, in fact, she couldn't remember anything after coming out of the shower, but she was pleased that he had come home. She had been lonely despite having the twins around and his presence was comforting even if he didn't provide much conversation. A smile tugged her lips as she pressed herself closer to him and closed her eyes again.

"I missed you," Rin whispered so quietly Sesshoumaru wondered if he had heard her right.

"Hm. I missed you too," he replied with a smirk, watching her smile again.

"Don't go away then."

"I have to work."

"Someone else can do it," she said sleepily as she rolled onto her back.

As she moved, Sesshoumaru noted the difference in her sleeping attire and smirked again. Her nightdress was low cut with thin straps and very short. Unable to help himself, he slid one large hand down her side to rest at her hip where the dress had ridden up and exposed her black underwear. Rin sighed softly as his fingers started tracing abstract patterns on her skin before her eyes snapped open when she felt lips against her neck. She found herself gazing into amber eyes darkened by unmistakeable lust and swallowed hard as she felt a twinge of nervousness. After a moment, she regained her confidence and smiled encouragingly as she reached up to press a kiss against his lips before falling back against the pillows.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Sesshoumaru murmured as he propped himself up on an elbow and proceeded to trail kisses up and down her neck.

"I know exactly what I'm doing," Rin replied just as quietly as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Sesshoumaru didn't reply as his lips claimed hers in a passionate kiss and let his free hand drift up from her hip under her nightdress. He was slightly surprised when Rin returned his kiss with equal fervour but he smirked when she gasped as his large hand gently closed around her breast. She stiffened for a moment before relaxing against him and pulling him closer. After a moment, Sesshoumaru sat back and looked at the woman beside him, wondering what she thought of his actions. Catching his eye, Rin smiled as she reached up to thread her fingers through his long hair, something she had always wanted to try but never had to courage to actually do.

"Are you alright with this?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, looking at her seriously.

"Yes," she replied with a dazzling smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure," Rin confirmed with a grin. "You're talking too much."

Sesshoumaru smirked. "Do forgive me."

Try as she might, Rin couldn't hold in the soft laughter that burst forth after his statement. Shaking his head at his giggling wife, Sesshoumaru ran a hand down her smooth leg before grasping it in a gentle grip and rolling onto his back, pulling her with him. A gasp of surprise left her lips at the sudden movement before a mischievous smile tugged her lips. Leaning down towards him, she gently placed a trail of kisses against his jaw as she made her way to his lips. Just when he was sure that he would soon be feeling those soft lips against his, Rin backed away and sat up to run her hands down his bare chest slowly. Growling impatiently, he reached up to pull her down to him and saw her grin just before he took her lips. When they eventually parted, Rin smirked and kissed his lips gently just before she sat up.

"I quite like this," she said, her eyes twinkling with a mischief he had never seen in her before.

"That's good," Sesshoumaru replied, matching her smirk with one of his own. "This is a novel experience for me."

"How so?" Rin asked, tilting her head cutely to one side.

"This is the first time I've been in this situation with my wife," he said quietly, placing emphasis on the word 'wife.'

"In that case it's a novel experience for me too," Rin agreed, nodding in understanding.

"Although I won't deny that I did wonder when we would get around to this."

"If you were that eager, you should have said something," she grinned. "I wouldn't have refused."

"I'll remember that," Sesshoumaru replied, before pulling her down for another kiss.

Rin smiled into the kiss and was just getting into it when she found herself bereft of his lips and being rolled back over onto her back again. She smiled to herself, having known that Sesshoumaru probably wouldn't submit to anyone easily even if it was her. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around him as he leaned over her. Her eyes widened in surprise when she once again felt his hand creep down her leg to grasp her thigh, but this time, she obligingly parted her thighs so that they were intimately pressed together when he leaned towards her again. Sighing softly, she tilted her head up to receive his kiss, knowing that this night would be unforgettable in more ways than one.

*-*-*-*

It was fortunate for both Rin and Sesshoumaru that the next day was a Saturday so they did not have to get up early. The twins were already awake and playing in the garden when the soft morning sunlight woke Rin. Sighing to herself, she wondered why she felt warm and comfortable before memories of the night before filled her mind's eye and her face turned pink. The source of her warmth shifted slightly and she heard him chuckle softly as he nuzzled her neck. Turning her head to look behind her, she saw Sesshoumaru's amber eyes looking intently at her and she caught her breath. The hands that were wrapped around her slowly drifted up her stomach causing her breath to quicken as he continued to gently nuzzle her neck. It took great strength on her part, but eventually she pulled away and rolled onto her back to look at him.

"The twins are awake," she said quietly. "They could walk in at any moment."

"They could," Sesshoumaru agreed in a husky voice that sent shivers down Rin's spine. "We'll have to quiet then."

Rin laughed. "Or you'll have to wait until tonight."

"I don't think I can. You're far too tempting."

"I'm sure you'll manage."

Sesshoumaru smirked and left a lingering kiss on her lips before heading into the bathroom for a shower. As she listened to the running water, Rin stretched as she leaned back against the pillows and looked out the window. It was a bright sunny day and that matched her mood perfectly. The night before had been perfect and she knew that they had completely changed their relationship with that one act, but she didn't care. It was a change for the better.

The sound of voices approaching caught her attention just as she was planning to get out of bed. She raised an eyebrow when someone knocked on the door before calling for them to come in, thinking that it was probably the twins. Rin's jaw dropped in surprise when Kagome stepped through the door instead with a grin on her face as she took in her friend's appearance.

"Kagome? What are you doing here?" Rin asked in surprise, tightening her grip on the sheet around her.

"No reason really. I just wanted to drop by and see how you were," Kagome said with a shrug. "The twins said you two hadn't gotten up yet so I came to see what you were up to."

"It's very nice of you to visit, but why so early in the morning?"

"It's mid-morning, Rin."

Rin turned to stare at the clock on Sesshoumaru's bedside table before groaning and falling back against the pillows. "I didn't realise that it was so late! I need to make breakfast for the twins."

"Don't worry too much about that," Kagome said as she picked up Rin's bathrobe and handed it to her with a wink. "Inuyasha's taking care of that, but it might be an idea to show your face so they know you didn't die in your sleep or anything. Where's your husband?"

"He's in the shower," Rin replied as she secured the robe around her and ignored the blush on her face.

"Perhaps I should have waited a bit longer," Kagome said thoughtfully as she winked at her friend before stepping towards the door.

The kitchen was a hive of activity. Inuyasha looked quite strange preparing a meal for the twins, but Rin was grateful that he was. Hana and Ichirou ran towards her, wrapping their arms around her in an exuberant greeting before running back across the kitchen to Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru stepped into the kitchen just as the twins were being served their food and looked around in amazement, obviously not expecting to see so many people so early in the day on a Saturday.

"Have a good cold shower?" Inuyasha asked with a wink as he watched his brother continue to button his shirt.

"It seems that you might need to get your shower fixed, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru replied as he wrapped an arm around Rin's waist. "You do know that the hot water is supposed to work, don't you?"

Kagome laughed and sat down with the twins while Inuyasha shook his head and joined her. Sesshoumaru looked down when he felt Rin movement slightly and dipped his head to kiss her neck gently. She glanced over her shoulder before turning around to look at him. Making certain his gaze was on her, she lifted her hands to part the top of her robe just enough to show him that she obviously wore nothing beneath. Giving him a devilish smile, she put her hands in the pockets of her robe before turning to smile at the group assembled at the table. She thanked Inuyasha for making the breakfast and then disappeared down the hall after claiming to need a shower, knowing that Sesshoumaru would not doubt be following behind a short while later. Rin had just turned on the shower when the bathroom door opened and Sesshoumaru stepped in and locked it behind him. She grinned as she held out her arms to him and was soon swept up in his embrace and returning his passionate kiss as she mused that she was the one who couldn't wait until that evening.

*-*-*-*

**AN:** I apologise for this not having been put up yesterday. I was halfway through it when I found myself having to entertain uninvited guests for the day. Anyway, putting that aside, I don't think I'll be adding anymore detail to any of the bedroom scenes just yet. Perhaps later, but I'm not too sure of my writing skills concerning that just yet :P

Thank you for all the reviews and I hope that this chapter wasn't too vague :)

xMxAx


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter XXIV**

In the days following the discovery of Rin and Sesshoumaru's new level of intimacy, Kagome had been constantly teasing her friend. Rin didn't particularly mind the teasing since she knew that her friend meant no harm, but Sesshoumaru was a private sort of person and he wasn't best pleased when his brother had come along and tried to strike up a conversation about what he and Rin did in their spare time. This incident had been an endless source of amusement for the rest of the family since Inuyasha had narrowly avoided the butter knife that had been sent flying in his direction not long after his question had been voiced and had then spent the majority of his time trying, and failing, to make his brother feel bad about his violent reaction to an innocent question. Kagome and Rin never did find out what it was that Inuyasha had asked that had caused his brother to react in such a way, but soon decided that it was probably best to remain oblivious.

Rin was pleased with the way their relationship was developing and with each passing day, she began to realise that her marriage felt less and less like one of convenience. She had no idea how Sesshoumaru felt about the situation, but she was content with her own thoughts. Life was looking up for the pair and Rin had to admit that she was very happy. The twins were doing well at school and making lots of friends and Kohaku had not been anywhere near her for several weeks which gave her hope that he had finally given up on her.

One Friday evening, Rin sat quietly on the sofa between the twins as they watched the television while she contented herself with a book. Sesshoumaru had been working late that evening and as was normal when he worked late, Rin felt slightly lonely. The twins were wrapped up in whatever it was they were watching and were not being very sociable, although she found it quite difficult to have proper conversations with them even when they were feeling sociable. The lack of conversation was beginning to get to her when the living room door opened and Sesshoumaru stepped in, glancing around the dimly lit room before his gaze fell on the trio sitting comfortably on the sofa. A slight smile tugged his lips before he placed the container in his hands down on the nearest surface and shrugged off his jacket.

"How was work?" Rin asked with a smile as she closed her book and looked up at him as he walked towards her.

"Very busy," he murmured, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on her lips before regarding the twins who were looking at him curiously. "I have a treat for you."

"What is it?" Hana asked eagerly, forgetting the television as she searched for the treat.

"Can I eat it?" Ichirou queried, looking at the container in his uncle's hands with narrowed eyes.

"You can't still be hungry?" Rin asked in exasperation. "We had dinner only an hour ago."

"I'm sure he'll have room for dessert," Sesshoumaru said with a smirk.

"Dessert?" Hana exclaimed gleefully.

"Indeed. It was left over from tonight's service and it would be a waste to throw it away."

Rin shook her head as she watched the twins run after their uncle into the kitchen only to return moments later each carrying a plate with a slice of chocolate cake. They sat on the thick carpet and were soon absorbed in their television programme as they eagerly devoured the cake. Sesshoumaru sat down beside Rin with a sigh and leaned back to stare up at the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes in an unusual display of weariness.

"You aren't normally this tired," Rin commented, her brow creasing as she looked at the silent man beside her.

"It was exceptionally busy tonight," Sesshoumaru replied, rubbing his eyes before looking at Rin with a vague smile.

Sighing to herself, Rin wondered why anyone would choose to work in a restaurant. From what she had seen, they were very busy and it didn't seem very pleasant at all. She watched Sesshoumaru slide down onto the carpet between the twins when they requested he join them in watching their programme and smiled at the trio sitting in a row in front of her on the carpet. Eager to do something kind for Sesshoumaru, Rin shifted on the sofa until she sat directly behind her husband and placed her hands gently on his shoulders. He jumped slightly in surprise before glancing over his shoulder and then relaxing when he saw Rin. Sighing softly, he let his head drop forward as she gently massaged his tense shoulders as he wondered how she knew how to give such good massages. He remembered the times when she had been rubbing lotions into his skin; she had been just as gentle as she was now.

"Perhaps you should go to bed?" Rin asked after a while as her hands ceased their movements. "I'm sure the twins won't mind since it's nearly their bedtime as well."

"Would it not be simpler for everyone to go to bed then?" Sesshoumaru countered, leaning back to look up at Rin.

"It's a good idea. I'll put the twins to bed."

The twins didn't protest as much as she thought they would when she led them down the corridor to their bedroom. Sesshoumaru leaned back against the sofa and watched the trio walk down the corridor with a slight smile. His eyes closed as he listened to Rin talking quietly to the twins and every now and then, one of them would reply to her words in a loud voice until she shushed the child. It was domestic bliss, he mused. He had a niece and a nephew who he was immensely proud of and a wife who could make his heart race and his breath quicken with a single smile. It was an arrangement he had been unsure of in the beginning, but looking back on the times they had spent together, Sesshoumaru was very glad he hadn't immediately dismissed his father's idea when he heard it. Soft footsteps caught his attention and he opened his eyes to find Rin walking towards him with the very smile he had been thinking of just moments before.

"You should've gone to bed," she chided, her smile still in place as she sat on the sofa behind him.

"I was waiting for you," Sesshoumaru replied as he pushed himself to his feet.

"I'm a big girl," Rin said with a giggle. "I think I can manage to get from the twins' bedroom to ours."

Sesshoumaru shook his head as he pulled Rin up beside him and headed towards the kitchen. "No, I'm aware that you have quite a good sense of direction although I'd be very surprised if anyone could get lost in this house."

"Why are we going to the kitchen?"

"Didn't I say I had a treat for you?"

"Weren't you talking to the twins?"

"I was talking to all of you."

"Oh," Rin's eyes lit up as she leaned against the kitchen counter and looked curiously at the tall man beside her. "What is it?"

"Your favourite."

Rin's eyes widened when she saw a large piece of sponge cake topped with raspberries sitting in the plate Sesshoumaru held out to her. She smiled as she accepted the plate and fork and dug in, her smile growing as she relished the taste of one of the few desserts she ate. Sesshoumaru leaned against the counter beside her and watched with a look of amusement as a look of pure bliss crossed her face before she turned to look at him seriously.

"How did you know I liked sponge cakes?" Rin asked curiously.

"Observation," Sesshoumaru replied with a shrug and a sly smile.

"Observation?"  
"Indeed. You didn't think that your food preferences would escape me, did you?"

"But how did you know?" she asked again, now slightly confused. "I don't bake so I've never made one."

"Do you remember Inuyasha and Kagome's wedding?" Rin nodded and frowned in confusion. "You chose the sponge cake for dessert and a number of other times we have been out for meals, I've seen you choose that same cake."

"You really are very observant," Rin murmured, looking slightly stunned by the revelation.

"The only thing I wasn't sure about was the raspberries," Sesshoumaru admitted, picking up one of the berries from the top of the cake and looking at it thoughtfully before eating it.

Rin giggled and leaned up to kiss his lips gently. "Thank you."

Amber eyes widened slightly as Sesshoumaru looked down into Rin's smiling face. He watched her happily finish the piece of cake and felt a sudden desire to take her lips as the tip of her tongue came out to lick her lips. Unconsciously, he mimicked her actions and was surprised to find the sweet taste of the cake's frosting on his lips. Rin jumped in surprise when two strong arms wrapped around her waist as she turned to wash the plate in the sink nearby.

"The dishes can wait until tomorrow," Sesshoumaru murmured huskily in her ear as he pulled her back against his chest.

"I thought you were tired," Rin asked with a smirk as she dried her hands.

"I'm never too tired when the situation involves you."

"Hm. It certainly seems so," she giggled as she wriggled against him and eventually succeeded in turning around to face him. "Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"No."

"Good," Rin murmured with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. "We mustn't have a repeat of last weekend though."

"The twins didn't complain about our tardiness," Sesshoumaru replied quietly, tightening his arms around her slim waist before adding slyly, "I certainly would complain if we have a repeat of last weekend."

Giggling quietly, Rin pulled away and pecked him on the cheek lightly before taking his hand and leading the way to the bedroom, pausing only to switch of the lights as she went. Sesshoumaru closed the bedroom behind him and turned to find Rin's petite body stretched out on the bed and a smile on her face as she watched him approach. He propped himself up on an elbow as he lay beside her and gently ran his fingers through her hair as he looked at her thoughtfully.

"You're not wearing your glasses," he commented casually.

"For all your observations about my food preferences, you're not very observant when it comes to my appearance," Rin replied with a grin.

"What does that mean?" Sesshoumaru asked with a frown.

"I've not worn my glasses for several days now. Contacts are much better, I wonder why I resisted them for so long," she murmured thoughtfully.

Shaking his head at his apparent lack of observation in this area, Sesshoumaru lay back against the pillows and looked up at the ceiling while Rin curled comfortably into his side. It was strange, he thought. In the past, he had never been able to sleep if he had had to share his bed with another person. He distinctly remembered having to share a bed with his brother when they were very young and how they had both fought over who had more space and how one had too much blanket. A quiet chuckle escaped his lips as he thought of that disastrous evening.

"Something funny?" Rin asked quietly, shifting slightly to look into his eyes.

"I was just thinking," Sesshoumaru replied, squeezing her shoulders gently as he looked at her.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"I was thinking that you are the first person I have been comfortable sharing a bed with."

"Really?" she queried in a mildly surprised voice as she pushing herself up off the bed and wandering over to the wardrobe nearby.

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru confirmed, watching her movements intently before sitting up and sliding to the end of the bed, beckoning her towards him.

"I've never been able to sleep while sharing a bed with someone. Inuyasha was particularly awful, but you are very different."

Rin smiled at the compliment and walked towards him, her hands resting on his shoulders as she stood between his legs. She wasn't sure if he intended to carry on the conversation so she chose to remain silent, but her eyes widened when she felt long fingers deftly undoing the buttons of her blouse and the zipper at the back of her skirt.

"You are sneaky," Rin said with a smile as she stepped out of the skirt that pooled to the floor around her feet and shrugged out of the blouse. "How did you manage to undo those buttons so quickly?"

"Eagerness," Sesshoumaru replied quietly as he gazed at Rin's slim body. "You look incredible."

Before Rin could say anymore, she felt hands sliding up her back to the clasp that held her bra in place and shortly after, it was falling to the floor to join her skirt and blouse. Only her underwear saved her from being totally nude while Sesshoumaru remained fully clothed and with this in mind, Rin smiled deviously as she gently pushed him back against the bed and straddled his thighs, forgetting that she was almost completely naked. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow but remained silent as he took in the view. His eyes widened imperceptibly when she leaned towards him and began to quickly unfasten the buttons on his shirt. Smirking, he let her do as she wished and chose instead to run his hands along her slender legs. A gasp of surprise left Rin's lips when she suddenly found herself held tightly against Sesshoumaru's broad chest as he rolled to one side. Looking up at him, she frowned slightly. Lust was evident in his eyes, but exhaustion was written all over his face. Sighing softly, she pushed herself back and sat up, pulling him up with her.

"We have the whole weekend," she said softly, pressing her lips against his gently. "You need sleep."

Sesshoumaru looked about to protest but then he smirked at her. "You're probably right."

"I am right," Rin stated with a teasing grin.

Sesshoumaru smirked at her once more before she got to her feet and wandered into the bathroom, emerging moments later with a brush in her hand and her long hair hanging loose over her shoulder as she brushed it out. She sat on the edge of the bed and he marvelled at how at ease she seemed to be considering her lack of clothing, but pushed the thought aside in favour of shedding his own work clothes and slipping beneath the covers. Rin was just about to slip beneath the covers when Sesshoumaru stopped her. Looking at him questioningly, a gasp of surprise left her lips when she suddenly found herself divested of the last item of clothing she still wore. Blushing slightly, she found herself grateful for the darkness that surrounded them but soon forgot to be embarrassed when she was drawn into Sesshoumaru's protective embrace moments later.

"This is different," Rin commented quietly as she rested her head against his shoulder and ran her hand gently over the planes of his muscular chest.

"We should do this more often," Sesshoumaru replied, pulling her closer and running his hand down to the small of her back as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I hope the twins don't walk in tomorrow morning," she said with a giggle.

Rin couldn't help but blush every time she thought of that night and tried very hard to keep it from her mind while she worked, but it was easier said than done. Rika had noticed the blush and given her a knowing smile that had made her blush even more. Eventually, she came to terms with the new level of intimacy and was rather proud of the fact that she didn't blush every time she thought of it. Sesshoumaru was mildly amused by Rin's growing confidence and was eager to take advantage of at every available opportunity. Months passed and the bond the pair had forged went from strength to strength until they both agreed that their marriage was definitely no longer one of convenience. While the pair were exploring the extent of their feelings for each other, the rest of the family watched their progression happily, but decided best not to embarrass the pair by commenting on their changing relationship.

It was during one of the lunches that Izayoi arranged for everyone that the whole family, including Rin and Sesshoumaru, discovered just how much their relationship had changed. The twins had gone to stay overnight with their friend which had left Rin and Sesshoumaru to attend the family's lunch alone.

"I've put on weight," Rin said with a sigh as she pulled on her jacket.

"Have you?" Sesshoumaru asked, pausing in his tracks to turn and look at her critically.

"Yes, can't you see?"

"No. You look the same to me."

"Oh," Rin exclaimed in surprise and then smiled as though her worries had been eased by that simple statement. "Maybe I didn't put on as much as I thought then."

Sesshoumaru shook his head and smiled to himself as he wrapped an arm around Rin's waist before starting up the steps leading to his family's home. Pushing open the door, he ushered Rin inside and divested her of her jacket before going in search of his step mother. Izayoi was in the kitchen preparing drinks when the pair wandered in and she had thrown her arms around them both before picking up the tray of drinks and leading them out to the garden where the rest of the family sat.

"We were wondering if you two were going to join us," Inutaisho said with a grin as he enveloped Rin in a hug before she sat down. "Where are the twins?"

"They're staying at a friend's today," Rin said with a smile as she sat down beside Sesshoumaru.

"I see," he said with an understanding nod. "How's work been, Sesshoumaru? It seems like a long time since we've seen you."

"It's only been a month, Father."

"A month is too long, dear," Izayoi said with a smile.

"Work has been busy as always," Sesshoumaru said with a shrug.

"Is this usually a busy period for the restaurant?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Not particularly. We've been publicising so our reputation is probably growing."

"Don't tire yourself out too much," Izayoi said with a frown.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Rin said with a smile as she patted Sesshoumaru's hand gently. "He knows what happens if he works late too many nights a week."

Inuyasha's eyebrows rose and he laughed. "Poor man."

"Just what are you thinking about?" Kagome demanded with a frown as she turned to her husband. "What do you mean, Rin?"

"She locks me out the bedroom," Sesshoumaru supplied.

"I don't particularly like being woken up in the middle of the night," Rin said with a huff.

"I imagine the sofa gets quite uncomfortable," Inutaisho commented with a grin.

"Only when I have to share it."

"Who do you share it with?" Inuyasha asked with a frown.

"Hana is a light sleeper so she usually hears him coming home," Rin said. "She shares the sofa with him sometimes."

"That's so cute!" Kagome exclaimed. "She really likes you, doesn't she?"

"Sticks to me like a limpet," Sesshoumaru murmured with a thoughtful look. "I'm used to it now though."

As was the norm, the afternoon passed quickly and soon the sun was beginning to sink low in the sky and a slight chill had taken the place of the warm sun that had been shining down on the family for the day. Rin excused herself from the group to fetch her jacket and when she returned, she paused beside the chair she had vacated to pull it over her shoulders. Briefly, she thought she saw Izayoi looking at her thoughtfully but decided that she had probably imagined it.

"You look different, Rin," Inuyasha commented as she sat down and frowned slightly as he tried to put his finger on what was different.

"Really?" Rin asked with a vague smile. "I've put on a bit of weight so that might be it."

"Have you?" Kagome exclaimed. "It doesn't look like it."

"Funny you should say that," Rin murmured with a frown. "Sesshoumaru said the same thing but I know I have."

"Let's go see, shall we?" Izayoi suggested, suddenly joining the conversation and taking Rin's hand in hers as she got out of her seat.

Shrugging slightly, Rin followed without protest. Her weight had never been very stable and she was sure that she had put on a lot of weight if she could feel it so much. Kagome followed and chatted happily about how Kouga and Ayame were finally going to get married. Rin stared at the scale she stood on and then frowned. Her weight had not changed drastically and could easily be rectified, but she felt different and didn't know why. Izayoi crossed her arms and smiled triumphantly as though she had just proved something.

"See, you haven't put on weight," Kagome said with a giggle as she sat on the edge of the bath.

"I still feel like I have," Rin murmured, looking thoughtful.

"Rin, have you considered the possibility that you're pregnant?" Izayoi with a smile.

Rin laughed as Kagome turned to stare at her with wide eyes before beginning to reply. "No. That's not possible…"

"Really?" Izayoi queried with a smile. "You didn't sound so sure by the end of that sentence."

"Now that you mention it," Rin said quietly. "I'd not given that much thought."

The blood drained from her face as she thought of the implications of Izayoi's words. Sinking down onto the edge of the bath beside Kagome, Rin buried her face in her hands as she wondered what to do. If she was pregnant, it could prove to be troublesome. She didn't know how Sesshoumaru would react and she didn't even know if he wanted children just yet. They hadn't even been married for a year which was what they had agreed on before considering children. They're first anniversary was coming up in a month's time, but still, it was too early. She frowned again as she thought over the situation.

"That's really good news if it's true, isn't it?" Kagome exclaimed happily as she looked from her mother-in-law to her sister-in-law.

"I don't know," Rin murmured, burying her face in her hands again as she tried to decide if this was good news or bad news.

"What's the matter?" Kagome asked in surprise. "Don't you want children?"

"Of course, but not just yet. I don't even know how Sesshoumaru feels about it. We've not discussed it."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that, dear," Izayoi said as she wrapped an arm around the younger woman's shoulders. "I know he wants children and it might be a bit of a surprise, but I think he'll be pleased. We need to find out if you are pregnant first though."

"I'll go buy a test," Kagome volunteered.

Rin watched her friend leave the room and then disappear out into the garden before sighing. While Rin thought over her situation, Kagome was striding towards the trio of men sitting outside, talking quietly amongst themselves. Inuyasha looked up with a smile when he saw his wife coming towards him and then looked surprised as she demanded the car keys before disappearing without answering any of his questions. Sesshoumaru frowned as he watched her disappear. Did that mean something was wrong? A chill ran down his spine and he swore that, for a moment, his heart stopped when he wondered if something was wrong with Rin. He was just debating whether or not to go and find her when his father spoke up.

"Izayoi probably forgot something. I think she mentioned forgetting to buy something for dessert earlier," he said thoughtfully.

Although those words helped to calm him down, Sesshoumaru was still on edge and knew that he wouldn't be completely calm until Rin sat beside him. He wouldn't feel at ease until he saw her smile and could hold her in his arms until he was satisfied that there was nothing wrong. Try as he might, he couldn't pay attention to the conversation his father and brother were having and after what seemed like hours, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced towards the house. Izayoi stood in the doorway and beckoned him over with a smile. Excusing himself under the pretence of helping Izayoi with the dessert, Sesshoumaru got to his feet and walked into the house where he found his step mother waiting for him with Kagome beside her. He noted that Kagome had a strange look on her face. It was almost as though she was trying to suppress a smile, but he couldn't be sure.

"Rin's a bit upset about the weight issue," Izayoi said simply. "Do you think you could cheer her up while Kagome and I get started on dessert?"

Perplexed by the strange request, Sesshoumaru nodded and wandered up the stairs to the bathroom where Izayoi had told him Rin was. He paused at the door and wondered what it was he was expected to do. Weight had never been an issue for him or any of the other women he had associated with throughout his life or if it was, they had never spoken to him about it. Sighing, he knocked lightly on the door and pushed it open as he stepped inside before closing it behind him. He mentally prepared himself as he turned to look towards Rin and sensed that there might be tears, but he wasn't prepared for the sight before him.

Rin stood in front of the small window and gazed at the frosted glass with a blank expression. She had wrapped her arms around herself and there was an aura of vulnerability that surrounded her which made Sesshoumaru instantly want to hold her tight until she felt better. Hearing the door open and close, Rin glanced over her shoulder to see who had come in and Sesshoumaru saw her expression turn to one of shock when she saw him. Turning around completely, she stared at him for a moment as though she didn't know what to say before shrugging helplessly and lowering her gaze to the floor.

"Izayoi said you were upset…" Sesshoumaru started as he walked towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm not upset," Rin denied. "I'm confused."

"About what?"

Without saying a word, Rin uncrossed her arms and opened her palm which had been clenched tightly shut. Eyeing her curiously, Sesshoumaru looked down and felt another shiver run down his spine at what he saw. Closing his eyes briefly, he opened them again and looked down at Rin's hand again to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. Glancing up, he saw that Rin looked uncertain and was waiting expectantly for his reaction.

"Really?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, his voice suddenly hoarse as he looked at her.

"Yes," Rin replied in a toneless voice, but he could see the fear in her eyes.

A sigh escaped him as Sesshoumaru looked at Rin for a moment longer and then smiled slightly. She looked surprised and was about to take a step back when Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her and held her close. After a brief hesitation, she dropped the test of the floor and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure what this reaction meant, but he didn't seem angry or upset which Rin assumed was a good thing. Minutes ticked by and eventually, Sesshoumaru stepped back and wiped away the few stray tears that ran down Rin's face. Giving him a tearful smile, she started to pull away but was surprised when she felt herself pulled forwards and her lips claimed in a passionate kiss.

"If it's a girl," Sesshoumaru murmured as he nuzzled her neck. "I hope she looks like you."

Rin's tears ran unchecked as she smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and wept into his shoulder. She had been so afraid that he would push her away and now that she knew he was pleased, she began to feel the joy of the discovery herself. They parted a short while later and Rin looked down at her stomach in amazement. Her hands felt the tiny bulge and tears filled her eyes again as she thought about the child. She had always wanted children and the fact that Sesshoumaru would be the child's father caused a wave of joy to rush over her. There had been times in her life when it seemed like she would never be happy ever again and as she stood in the bathroom with Sesshoumaru's wrapped tightly around her, she realised that she had been very wrong. As long as he was in her life, she would be happy and with the new addition to the family, Rin knew that the days of sadness were behind her. Nothing but happiness lay ahead of her and she knew that she would cherish each and every day.

**AN:** So there we go. I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I've been busy so hopefully this long chapter will make up for it. After not managing to complete the story at 20 chapters, I was going to make it 30 since I prefer round numbers, but I decided that it would be dragging it on too much. Anyhoo, I am still undecided about an epilogue. I don't really think it needs one, but you may disagree.

I'm going to try to work on The Bad Influence now since I've had a few ideas for it. There's also another story in the pipeline, not sure who the couple will be just yet, but the idea's there. Let me know if you have any preferences as to who the couple is as I have yet to introduce them into the story, but bear in mind that my forte is Inuyasha & Naruto ^^

All that's left to say is a massive thank you to everyone who reviewed this story. It truly makes my day knowing that something I've written is well received. I know I've become a bit slack when it comes to replying to the reviews, but I promise I'll get back into the habit again :)

Thank you again!!

xMxAx


End file.
